The Disease That Isnt Addiction. Sorry, I just cant accept that addictions like alcohol, drugs or sex are an actual disease. Maybe a mental illness, but not a disease. Id like to know what other actual physical or mental diseases can be cured by a twelve-step program. Can you cure leukemia, lung cancer or Parkinsons with a twelve-step program? What about bi-polar disorder? Can that be cured with twelve steps administered by somebody with no medical training? Why isnt nicotine addiction considered a disease like alcohol or heroin or sex addiction? What sets tobacco use apart from other addictions? Could it be politics and the anti-smoking lobby that has determined that tobacco use is something to be vilified? Golly gee, we wouldnt want to show any sympathy for tobacco users, but if you choose to use heroin, then you are a victim. Addiction isnt a disease, calling it one is just an excuse.
I agree with the OP. I've always felt that calling addiction a disease is just a way to make it sound like the addict isn't responsible for his or her actions. Addictions are caused by behavior, not illness.
Interesting. As an alcoholic, now sober, I have never said I was not ultimately responsible for my actions, and there were some pretty (*)(*)(*)(*)ing deplorable ones over my life. I never set out in life to become an alcoholic, and I knew when I was 18 I had a problem. Even as a kid, I never drank a beer. I drank everything I could get my hands on and I did not stop until I passed out or the booze was gone. So is it a disease? Certainly not in the same way that cancer is, but it is definitely not a normal life.
The U.S. have a plethora of diseases which are unknown in other countries. It's amazing how quickly a disease will spread when it's being subsidized by the government.
you overlook the fact that some people are genetically predisposed to addiction. if you were one of those individuals, you would be whistling to a different tune.
It still comes down to behavior. If you have a gene that predisposes you to alcoholism and don't drink, there's no problem. If you drink and develop an addiction, your behavior caused it, gene or no gene.
That's what medical professionals tell you to make you feel better. Psychiatrists and psychologists use that as a deflection to make you think the addiction is not your fault... When in reality it is your fault and your fault only. The only way you would get addicted to something is if you CHOOSE to. The only way to stop an addiction is if YOU WANT TO STOP IT. People who claim they want to quit an addiction, but aren't making any strides to fix the addiction are liars.
It is very easy for someone to claim they are addicted, but claiming addiction is simply an excuse to continue your poor behavior. For example, saying 'I can't quit smoking, I'm addicted' is a lie. That person is continuing to smoke by using the justification that because they can't help it, they have to smoke. Addiction, IMO, is a choice, and not something that just 'happens'.
Wish I coulda repped you for that one but I have to spread it first. I agree 100% with this post, and we don't agree on much!
It's refreshing to see someone else who isn't deceived by the psycho-babble put out by the medical community. After having gone through ulcerative colitis and ostomy surgery... ... I know what a real disease really is... ... and not a bunch of b.s. that only excuses away responsibility and accountability for some over grown baby wearin' adult's clothes with a bottle in his/her mouth.
Could I get a definition of "disease" that we can agree on? Re:12 steps AA etc No better than any alternative, up to and including doing nothing. And religious in origin and nature, I find these programs disturbing. Addiction is a predilection. A likelihood. An influence. Human willpower is an amazing thing, but the human mind is also deliciously fallible.
For starters, the government decides what a disease is by deciding what they'll pay for. Did anyone notice that when the government quit paying for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome it quietly went away--to be replaced by other syndromes, of course. The government pays, or has paid, for every addiction im imaginable.
Amazing. You mean I slept through the elimination of Medicaid and Medicare? You mean SSI no longer covers "permanent emotional disabilities" like my friend whose disability was that he really, really didn't want to work.Another friend was on track to get disability payments from SSI for chronic fatigue syndrome when the government quit accepting CFS for cash. "Oh, my god, what will I do?" Her doctor said, "There's another illness we can use. Do you have these symptoms?" As luck would have it she did and started collecting. Amazing, isn't it? You mean the parents of children with ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome don't get money from the states as home healthcare workers. In Illinois, they were even forced into unions. Hello, Obama. And then there are VA hospitals. So, tell me about the government not paying for healthcare.
Genetic predispositions are real. They do not deny personal influence however. That's why they are PREDISPOSITIONS and not DETERMINED. So if you succumb to a predisposition, that it is a such makes it more difficult than average for you to stop. Of course right-wingers are going to use "personal responsibility" in order to blame the victim. It's what they always do and already have in this thread. At the very least, you could be sympathetic to someone who may have a harder time of quitting a bad habit than you...
Honestly, the success rate for AA in treating alcoholism is probably not all that much different than the success rate of holistic healing in curing cancer.
You have no clue what you are talking about. Absolutely none. Typical liberal, playing the victim card instead of taking responsibility. You aren't a victim because you succumbed to the addiction. You weren't forced to smoke crack, snort coke, etc. If you were FORCED to multiple times than you would be a victim. The left things everyone is a victim, that's the problem. They choose the behavior, they can deal with it. Like I said, if somebody really wants to quit a habit, they will. If they don't want to, then they will continue the habit, it's that simple.
I've beat a of couple addictions. One was crystal meth which is a pretty darn harsh addiction. I've seen friends beat theirs, and some that died because they didn't. Trust me, I've traveled that road.
I sometimes joke that I keep smoking because I am addicted, But, I know that every time I light up a cigarette it's my choice.
That's amazing, good job. I was going to point out there are certain addictions like crystal meth that make the chemical levels in your brain so out of whack that you being high is the new norm. When you aren't high on crystal meth, and your brain chemicals are normal, you feel terrible. I don't know from use obviously, but from the research I have done on it, it is one unique drug.
Actually, everyone is one of those individuals. It just looks different on one person than it does on the next.
