Do You Believe Addiction is a Disease, Or... [POLL!]

[papa]

addiction is a choice, not a disease.

 

[ATF]

Flexbone and papasomni: you guys want to elaborate on that?

 

[cola]

addiction is a hell of your own making, not a disease, alltough it makes you feel old and sick (i'm taliknd bout opiate addiction)

 

[lifeguardsleeps]

i only read a few posts in this thread

but i would say it is definitely a disease. it is a mental illness such as depression. like how depression tells you like "you are no good and you won't ever amount to anything", addiction tells you, "come on do drugs one more time, you wont get caught and it will be your last time." like it is a mental compulsion. it is a messed up thought process just like any other mental illness.

it is like saying to someone with ocd that they should just quit doing their rituals like walking over the same spot on the floor 10 times, like you just keep getting thoughts about doing it until you finally give in and do it.

also just like depression addiction is a cycle, like for depression they will think like, "no one would like me so im not going to talk to anyone." and then they have no friends and they think it is because no one likes them. the addiction cycle is like, you do drugs and waste all your opportunities and then you think i might as well take drugs cause i have a shitty life.

for me it is a definite mental problem. saying it can be cured by will power is like saying depression can be cured by will power... like it can be, but it is very hard. you really have to change your thinking and ignore those negative voices. there is more to it than will power alone.

a lot of mental illnesses have the same stigma, people always think like why dont they just stop doing that, and it isnt that they cant its that a lot of times you need to find the right tools to help resist self destructive urges.

for the people comparing addictions to pneumonia, it is a mental disease not a physical one.

I say no. You catch a disease with very rarely a choice involved. You catch an addiction by making bad choices. Big difference in my opinion. One could make the genetics argument but i dont feel like if my father was a oxy fiend that I would be drawn to it like magic, maybe I'd have a higher chance of being an addict but if anything I'd say environment is a bigger factor than a genetic predisposition.

i know for a fact that i had an addictive personality before i started using drugs. i had gotten addicted to a certain relationship and i had to talk to the person every day or i did not feel all right. that was my first experience with addiction. then when i tried alcohol and smoking pot, which most people do, i got addicted to them as well. you cant expect everyone to never try drinking or drugs because they might get addicted. you dont know who is going to get addicted. i had feelings of like wanting to take drugs i think, before i even took them. i just wanted to change how i felt. what would you say about an addiction to something that seems innocent like exercise addiction... would you say their poor choices of trying to exercise lead them to be an addict so its their fault?

because you can get better at any time, if you really wanted to.

ill admit there are some similarities:
prolonged exposure to opiates can result in W/Ds just like
prolonged exposure to wet & cold weather can result in pneumonia

nobody wants either of those things, but the fact is: you can wake up one morning and say "i dont want these W/Ds anymore!" and you're perfectly able to get rid of them for good. you cannot, however, wake up and say "i dont want pneumonia anymore!"and be able to get rid of it by sheer willpower.

that is my only argument for this.
you give me a legit, self-inflicted disease that you can completely cure by yourself, without any medicines, practices (ex. dieting), etc... and i will change my mind.

most addicts do need "practices" to get rid of their addiction. they may need to get rid of bad influences, avoid triggers, gain coping skills. i think most people fighting an addiction do something to help them quit. there are very few who quit while doing NOTHING, and i would say maybe they werent addicted in the first place. a disease like that i can think of is depression, which some people can just get over it and stop being depressed, or sometimes they can change their thinking patterns or go to therapy. a lot of times the depression will still be in the back of your head but they have gotten over most of it.

 

[root]

...depression can be cured by will power... like it can be...

 

[Lady Codone]

Since I'm on the side that doesn't buy into the addiction = disease paradigm, let me make one thing clear: Just because some people choose not to consider addiction a disease doesn't mean we don't think it's serious, real, and every bit as horrible as anything else in the world. It also doesn't take anything away from those who have conquered it or who are currently fighting to stay clean. It's still a triumph, a battle, and a very difficult situation that, like a lot of diseases, can lead to death and other horrors. Not calling it a disease is in no way a slam to addicts, past or present. At least not in my opinion. Seems a lot of people take personal insult to comments that don't equate addiction with a disease.

 

[ATF]

Thanks Lady Codone, i felt alot of addict bashing energy myself, but that may have been addicts judging themselves 'weak willed' etc.

I really enjoyed your post Lifeguardsleeps ~ if i was going to side with addiction being a disease, your argument rings true to my experience. I also had addictions way before drugs, and drugs have been a source of fascination since before I ever used them (now im a drug nerd). And the comparison to depression was well done.

 

[papa]

Since I'm on the side that doesn't buy into the addiction = disease paradigm, let me make one thing clear: Just because some people choose not to consider addiction a disease doesn't mean we don't think it's serious, real, and every bit as horrible as anything else in the world. It also doesn't take anything away from those who have conquered it or who are currently fighting to stay clean. It's still a triumph, a battle, and a very difficult situation that, like a lot of diseases, can lead to death and other horrors. Not calling it a disease is in no way a slam to addicts, past or present. At least not in my opinion. Seems a lot of people take personal insult to comments that don't equate addiction with a disease.

QFT!

 

[GreenMachine]

addiction is a human trait...not a disease. It can happen to anyone, with anything, under the right circumstances.

 

[-Guido-]

Its not a disease, its a lifestyle, and how deep you you fall into it is up to you.

 

[ATF]

^ You dont think the lifestyle adjusts to the addiction?

 

[yasu]

Wheres the 'other' option

Well we gotta think about what type of 'addiction' it is. im addicted to world of warcraft , but since this poll is posted on BL i can proly assume a drug context...

I would say yes it's a disease, since the person addicted is still 'abnormal' to others who do not have the 'disease' (i dunno if thats a good way to put i lol)
But thats also how health professionals look at addiction as well, as a disease. They are trained to treat diseases and if they look at addiction as a disease they are obligated to treat it =]

 

[AfterGlow]

You may choose to START taking an addicting substance, but once you have become addicted there is a biological aspect that transcends one's ability to make a simple choice the way they could have before they became addicted. The ability to make a choice to stop the pathological behavior diminishes as the addiction becomes stronger. Eventually, you loose it altogether. The fact that one would choose their DOC over life itself should be strong evidence that the ability to make a rational choice has been lost. Somebody who knowingly commits slow suicide is either insane or has a mental "disease". Perhaps it is a choice at first, and an easy one at that. It is a difficult choice as one becomes addicted. Then much later, when addiction has settled in deeply, it is truly a disease. In my opinion, addiction is both a choice and a disease.

 

[Radiohead24]

So many people have said addiction is not a disease, but a situation that came about from bad choices. If that's the case why are so many addicts choosing to remain addicts rather than stop? If it's not a disease, why would any of the hardcore addicts keep making choices that leave them homeless, without money, family, poor health, etc.

I'm not saying I believe addiction is a disease, necessarily. Because I think it can be a cop out too for a lot of people. But I think a lot of people in this thread who have said they are struggling with addictions are being very hard on themselves.

 

[GenericMind]

If that's the case why are so many addicts choosing to remain addicts rather than stop? If it's not a disease, why would any of the hardcore addicts keep making choices that leave them homeless, without money, family, poor health, etc.

Because they're failing to take responsibility for their actions. Failure isn't a disease.

 

[Radiohead24]

Because they're failing to take responsibility for their actions. Failure isn't a disease.

You are right of course that failure isn't a disease. But do you believe that the worst addicts are just choosing to not take responsibility rather than get well?

I find it very hard to believe that people are simply just choosing to remain an addict rather than get better. Especially those who have families begging them to get treatment and will have a chance for a fresh start. Who would choose to live a junkie life unless there was something else at play keeping them in this cycle?

My personal opinion is that it's a disease much in the way that depression, anxiety, OCD are diseases. Sure people can occasionally "choose" not to become enveloped in depression by exercising, seeing people, etc. But there are some who cannot do this and require medical treatment to recover. That said, I definitely respect the opinions of those who feel strongly that addiction is not a disease at all.

 

[ATF]

You may choose to START taking an addicting substance, but once you have become addicted there is a biological aspect that transcends one's ability to make a simple choice the way they could have before they became addicted. The ability to make a choice to stop the pathological behavior diminishes as the addiction becomes stronger. Eventually, you loose it altogether. The fact that one would choose their DOC over life itself should be strong evidence that the ability to make a rational choice has been lost. Somebody who knowingly commits slow suicide is either insane or has a mental "disease". Perhaps it is a choice at first, and an easy one at that. It is a difficult choice as one becomes addicted. Then much later, when addiction has settled in deeply, it is truly a disease. In my opinion, addiction is both a choice and a disease.

This makes alot of sense to me.

 

[GenericMind]

You are right of course that failure isn't a disease. But do you believe that the worst addicts are just choosing to not take responsibility rather than get well?

I find it very hard to believe that people are simply just choosing to remain an addict rather than get better. Especially those who have families begging them to get treatment and will have a chance for a fresh start. Who would choose to live a junkie life unless there was something else at play keeping them in this cycle?

I do believe they're not taking responsibility rather than trying to get well. The reason they're not getting clean despite the things you mentioned, in my opinion, is because addiction is such a powerful thing. It can cloud your judgement, kill your motivation, and make you feel helpless. That doesn't mean you are helpless though. Choosing not to seek treatment because you enjoy a high too much or you're afraid of failing doesn't mean you have a disease, it means you're not willing to do the things you need to do to get better. I believe that once people take responsibility for their actions recovery becomes much more attainable.

 

[vicoprophen]

it think it's a condition (A status effect which is usually negative)that u yourself created.

 

[djdeuce2001]

my moms been an addict since she was 12. So i'd say a disease especially when she takes only half a shot of booze and becomes violently drunk.
Although i do think that there are other situations that can lead to temporary addiction.