Is addiction a weakness?

[Crankinit]

I've always considered addiction to be a mental illness, on par with depression or anxiety, although the issue is complicated significantly by the fact that addiction often begins as a method of self medicating some other, deeper problem, and that 'addiction' itself can be defined in a variety of ways.

 

[BJH]

I would say yes.

 

[L3inad]

Not so much a 'weakness', unless you let it run your life. Not controlling your use when its having a very real negative impact on you - thats definately weakness.

No ones putting a gun to your head and telling you to take the drugs

 

[footscrazy]

I don't believe in such a dinstinct line between emotional and physical factors. If you believe that a thought arises from a physical state in the brain - then emotions are physical. Regardless though, even if your viewpoints aren't so materialistic (in the philosophical sense) as mine, surely you can see that the emotional and the physical often overlap - take for instance the placebo effect of medications, or psychosomatic illnesses.

This is not to say that I don't consider addiction a weakness. Even a physical addiction often begins with unhelpful - some could say weak - choices. It's not often the physical withdrawal that keeps people addicted either. Most physical withdrawals last weeks at most, and yet, most former heroin addicts wouldn't consider their addiction cured once they'd weathered the physical withdrawal.

 

[headdah]

Is addiction a weakness?? I do not think so.

Just because we do not conform with the rest of the sheep in the herd and follow and listen what ever our conservative gov tells us whats legal to and whats not. Does not mean we are doing the wrong thing.

I like to get on the piss as much as another other regular joe, but I also enjoy my fungi's during our beloved fungi season,

Twirl the methpipe? fuck yeah

Pop a few ekkies here and there and reachout for the fucken lasers at a sick rave FUCKEN OATH.

enjoy a nice opi sesh at home nodding out while watching some show on tv, be it CWE of Codiene or a few lines of oxy//plugging 40-60mg of oxy :> HELLLLLLS YES BROTHER :D

so, if you ask me, am I addicted to any particular subastance right now. NO. Am I suffering from opi withdrawels? yes possibly. but that doesnt mean I'm addicted to it, (YET)

I enjoy my uppers my downers, oh oh oh and there was always be a place in my heart for teh good ol' LUCY in the sky with diamonds.

Is addiction a weakness? NO. Its a way of life.

THIS IS OUR LIFE. I choose to do all the named substance above and plenty more. WHY? because I am not just one of those normal sheeps in the herd. I like to be different. I like to see and feel the world enhenced.

/end rant.

 

[Subtext]

I have been addicted to H for a while and over that time I have wanted to keep using although it was fucking with my life and other times, like now I've wanted to stop forever. So when I use now I consider it weakness because I have no physical withdrawal symptoms just a pavlovian response to boredom/ people I'm around/ the weekend etc. So for me right now it definitely is a weakness. All I need to stop using is mind/self control, and sometimes I win that battle and sometimes I don't. But when I don't I'm always remorseful and when I do I'm happy with myself.

Basically the word addiction implies the drugs are controlling you not the other way round. In any situation when you are not in control of yourself you are in a weaker position whether it be you're stuck in prison or addiction. Weakness = loss of power= addiction

 

[J.Wallace]

Is addiction a weakness?? I do not think so.

Just because we do not conform with the rest of the sheep in the herd and follow and listen what ever our conservative gov tells us whats legal to and whats not. Does not mean we are doing the wrong thing.

I like to get on the piss as much as another other regular joe, but I also enjoy my fungi's during our beloved fungi season,

Twirl the methpipe? fuck yeah

Pop a few ekkies here and there and reachout for the fucken lasers at a sick rave FUCKEN OATH.

enjoy a nice opi sesh at home nodding out while watching some show on tv, be it CWE of Codiene or a few lines of oxy//plugging 40-60mg of oxy :> HELLLLLLS YES BROTHER :D

so, if you ask me, am I addicted to any particular subastance right now. NO. Am I suffering from opi withdrawels? yes possibly. but that doesnt mean I'm addicted to it, (YET)

I enjoy my uppers my downers, oh oh oh and there was always be a place in my heart for teh good ol' LUCY in the sky with diamonds.

Is addiction a weakness? NO. Its a way of life.

THIS IS OUR LIFE. I choose to do all the named substance above and plenty more. WHY? because I am not just one of those normal sheeps in the herd. I like to be different. I like to see and feel the world enhenced.

/end rant.

With all due respect, it sounds to me like you haven't hit rock bottom yet. Addiction is a weakness. Choosing to use drugs isn't the addiction portion of the equation. What is though, is when you keep using despite knowing you really shouldn't. Trying to stand out by using drugs, that in itself is a stupid reason to use drugs. Granted, I don't know you or you're story, and I mean all due respect, believe me. But it sounds like you're addicted to being high and you don't even know it.

 

[Busty St Clare]

It is probably a bit harsh to call an addict weak but I believe not being an addict means I am stronger. I have always believed if you play up, you still get up. It doesn't matter how big a night I had, if I had commitments the next day I got up and suffered through them. That takes greater strength of character than giving up and calling sick to continue with a bender.

No one is addicted from their first hit. They make a series of decisions along the path until one day they realise the noose is around their neck. Unless you are an idiot there will be moments when you question whether what you are doing is healthy or good for you. A stronger man will heed those warnings and not slip into addiction where as the weaker ones will be selfish and continue to feed those desires.

 

[SpiritFolk]

I think addiction is a complete weakness. I have been addicted to heroin, methadone, and bupe and they were hands down the worst most pathetic years of my life.

I still have have a daily addiction to alchol but for some reason I can manage most of the time unlike the other drugs, even though it bites me sometimes. I don't know if it just my addict brain talking but I think the good times I have had from drinking piss out weigh the negative, but then again all it takes is doing something like crashing a car or decking some dude for no reason and potentially fuck my life up for some period of time.

I try to have discipline and use drugs and not let them control me, which has been working somewhat since I went to rehab in 07 but if we are talking down right addictionwhich to me is waking up and first thing wondering how am I going to get my shot/bottle/pipe etc and fucking off everything else in life (family, work, friends,)until I am 'fixed' then do me that is a down right weakness.

Anyways just my 2 cents..

Peace

 

[NINDY]

I try to have discipline and use drugs and not let them control me, which has been working somewhat since I went to rehab in 07 but if we are talking down right addictionwhich to me is waking up and first thing wondering how am I going to get my shot/bottle/pipe etc and fucking off everything else in life (family, work, friends,)until I am 'fixed' then do me that is a down right weakness.

Anyways just my 2 cents..

Peace

The question as framed asks if addiction is a weakness. I cannot understand how anyone can argue a compulsive reliance on something extraneous to them could be anything other than a weakness. If you do not control it (the addiction), it controls you...at least to some degree.

Does that make the addict "weak"? Not necessarily. Indeed, I would prefer to say "no" because that label has a negative connotation. I have lost friuends to drug addiction and the last thing they needed to hear in active addiction was "you are weak". What they needed to hear was "It is in your power if you take it."

Having been very anti-drug all my life, I started IVing Ice (methamphetamine) coming up six months ago.

Am I addicted to it? Don't think so, not yet. Am I developing an unhealthy reliance on it for my social life? Absolutely, it is much too much fun.

Can I sometimes say "No" when offered? Yes, as recently as the last two nights. Do I sometimes fail to say "No" when I know I should (whether to be make sure I'm right to go to work on Monday, or because I am run down, or because I know I've already had enough)? Yes, most recently last weekend and, increasingly, more often.

I have always taken great pride in my strength of will. But now I can understand directly how an addiction can take hold of your life if you are simply enjoying it. And my strength of will mean jackshit if don't remind myself to enjoy it by all means but keep my guard up; don't accept what I know to be pathetic excuses to use because it feels good.

Because by the time it ceases to feel good - and becomes just about feeling less bad - it is too late. It has you in its grip. You are out of control.

Even if you function easily in the rest of your life.

Now, obviously, I am talking about drug addiction in my case (OK, ice) but its no less true of the compulsive shopper or the chocaholic or whatever. It's just the consequences can be so much worse.

Long story short...yes of course it has to be a weakness.

 

[puckboy]

The only scenario where I can see addiction not being a weakness is if it were to be the catalyst for artistic inspiration. Plenty of musicians, writers etc may not have been so creative if they weren't experiencing the whirlwind of thoughts/emotions/feelings in the depths of a drug addiction.

In every other aspect of life I'd say it's a weakness though. To continue using when it's slowly killing you and your relationships is a great weakness, but to recognise that and then overcome it is an immeasurable strength.