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

[DemonXstreeM]

Addiction is not a Disease.

Addiction is a word we have created so that it may take the blame for our faults.

It's not my fault I can't pay my bills. It's just my addiction keeps me as a slave.

 

[it_girl_rag_doll]

All I know is that the 'addiction as disease' model is the opposite of what's worked for me. The only thing anyone's ever said to me that has helped me moderate my alcohol intake - which used to be quite a big problem - has been that I had to take responsibility for myself. That saying, 'it will be fine soon' or 'it will stop soon', as I used to, is not the same as saying, 'I'm going to stop now.' see? It was about realising that I did have the power to do something about my drinking. In my experience, thinking of addiction as a disease has actually been disempowering and counterproductive to heping me stop.

 

[ayjay]

Is addiction a disease? No - although it is analagous to a disease in some aspects - natural history, prognosis etc

Is addiction a willpower problem, or signify moral weakness? Also no - and framing drug use in this way is a major cause of stigmatisation of drug users, which is incredibly counter-productive when it comes to providing health services to people who use drugs.

Is addiction a health issue? Absolutely. Let's not worry about whether it is a disease or not - let's just get to work!

 

[ATF]

Halleluja!

Exactly what addiction is isn't as important as taking action to help those who are afflicted (including ourselves) ~ but how exactly do we go about doing that if we don't understand why people become addicts?



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Now playing: Happy Mondays - 24 Hour Party People
via FoxyTunes

 

[Shambles]

Disease? No.
Weakness? No.
Way of life? Yes.

 

[GenericMind]

If it's a way of life it's a pretty shitty one.

 

[Shambles]

I agree .

A necessary evil in some circumstances though, was for me at least.

 

[iwish]

disease

n.
A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.
A condition or tendency, as of society, regarded as abnormal and harmful.


Yes.

 

[rgpizza]

Addictions a disease? I guess next time some of you guys can't pay your rent just tell your landlord it'd not your fault you spent all your money on drugs you have a disease. I'm sure he or she will be very compasionate and understanding.

We might as well just call everything a disease because basically thats what happiining. I;m late for work every day because I oversleep. Sorry boss not my fault I gotta disease it's a addiction to sleeping. I don't ever take showers and my house is a mess and I never clean it, whoops can't help it! it's a disease, it runs in my family my parents have a gene that was passed down to me its a no showering gene guess i'll have this disease for the rest of my life and their's nothing I can do to change it.

 

[phatass]

i vote NO... but it really depends on your definition of disease...

 

[e12dsm]

There is no clinical evidence what so ever that addiction is a disease. Never has been, and probably never will. I like to consider addiction as a "condition" There is no specific reason as to why or how people become addicted, because there is not a single person on this planet who is identical to the next. We all are different, and even though a lot of us may have very very similar stories or situations, our brains are alllll different. I also dont believe that it is in our genetic make up either. People who are addicts, are just obsesive, compulsive people. Which is true for most human beings as well, we are creatures of habit, and when we find something that we love or enjoy, it is in our nature to want to continue doing that, whatever it might be. Some people are addicted to sex, others to food, so on and so forth. I have never met a person who wasnt addicted to something in one way or another, it is who we are, human beings will always be addicts, it doesnt matter if its a disease, or if its hereditary, or w.e, people will alwayssss want to feel good, no matter what it takes.

 

[BrahamCracker]

Been down that road and it sucks to get back on track. There is NO absoultely known cure for this addiction. You can manage several ways, but there isn't a medication for it. NA and AA help a lot but a lot of people hate it. It is a disease in my opinion.

 

[pkt]

Depends on the circumstances, i think the alcoholism in my family is a disease but i think my past heroin addiction started as anything else and developed into a mental disease.....i think addiction can be a disease when you are addicted to just altering your state of mind but i would call it more of a mental disorder than a disease!

 

[MistaJeff]

I vote yes, I'm an addict. People in my family have had problems with alcohol. I've never said no to a drug in my life, I smoked pot the first time it was offered to me at 16. If someone puts anything that will get me high in front of me I will ingest it. I absolutely hate cocaine, but if someone handed me a sack I'd do line after line.

 

[limestoneman]

It treats one like a disease, but it feeds on it's medicine. It's more like a parasite.
Or diabetes.

 

[jayslapmc]

if addiction is a disease you may as well put pathological and problem gambling as also being diseases.

addiction is a habit that may form into an illness. This would be a malfunction in cognition of the human brain where one lacks the ability to learn from mistakes.

guns dont kill people, people kill people.

if you want to say addiction is a disease u might as well go as far to say religion is a disease, or better yet the human race is a disease of the earth.

 

[Khadijah]

Wat the hell is so wrong with wantin to shoot dope everyday anyways...if u do it then thats ur bizness not nobody elses....if u really think about it its just another thing to do...

Nickybundles yo u on point wit that shit esp. the part about gettin high sittin on the couch watchin tv lol...ahh man for real..

addiction tells you, "come on do drugs one more time, you wont get caught and it will be your last time."

THAT shit is tru as fuck tho, i LOL'ed when i read that yo, cuz its exactly right wat goes thru ur head at the time...hahaha

 

[Jakeperson]

Hunter S. Thompson once said something along the lines of "I've watched a lot of my friends go sober over the years, and frankly, they're just not having as much fun as I am."

I'd much rather an addiction over a disease. Especially a terminal one.
Atleast you get kind of good with the pain and suffering.

You've been addicted to Crystal Meth for 15 years, you're brains fucked, if you quit you'll probably be depressed and unable to do much in the world. Most people will disregard you as a drug addict, probably won't get work.
Is it really worth going through everything involved in quitting when you're quality of life may not improve that much?

 

[Jakeperson]

if addiction is a disease you may as well put pathological and problem gambling as also being diseases.

addiction is a habit that may form into an illness. This would be a malfunction in cognition of the human brain where one lacks the ability to learn from mistakes.

guns dont kill people, people kill people.

if you want to say addiction is a disease u might as well go as far to say religion is a disease, or better yet the human race is a disease of the earth.

In Australia Problem Gambling IS counted as a disease.

 

[brasil]

imo addiction is a disease cause once u stop using, evem if its for several years
if one day, u think u are "cured" and use any drug again, u i'll se your self on the same state that u were when u decided quiting, the obssession and compulsion can "sleep" while u are clean. but it will always be a part of u.