so now you get to decide what's a disease and what's not? So according to you, CFS is "something about inflammation in the brain, or something." Hmmmmmm. Sounds like a real educated opinion. how bout we leave that to people who actually understand what they're talking about--ie doctors.
In my opinion, addiction to alcohol, drugs, etc., is a disease because you can die from it. My dad died last year after a long battle with alcohol. He didn't even eat for the last week or so of his life; he literally drank himself to death. Only a very sick person would do that. Addiction is so powerful that one knows better than to consume alcohol and drugs and risk losing everything, but the addict will risk it all knowing the consequnces.
@ MagicalFire: I respectfully disagree. I think addiction is a disease. It alters the brain's chemistry. How else could one have such an unpleasant withdrawal? Also, it can be passed genetically, right?
Actually I do medically and I don't buy into the whole genetic predisposition unless my mother was drinking heavily during her pregnancy. It's an excuse people use to justify their addiction. Anyone with a brain can tell you that. You don't become an alcoholic overnight. I will criticize cowards.
IMO, addictions can be less or more bad as a disease, and more or less a person's fault as a disease, depending on which addiction you're comparing to which disease. But that is not relevant to what I was saying.
Um, nicotine addiction is a disease. I'm not sure what doctors you've been talking to. I guess you think people don't consider it a disease because they blame people for smoking despite the consequences? Just because something is a disease doesn't mean you're powerless over it. It's just that individuals, and doctors, can do more about some diseases than others. I think you see the mind and body as more separate than they really are. Some diseases are more easily cured than others, and some require very different therapies than others. The need for medical expertise does not determine whether something is a disease. Some diseases can be managed or cured by people with no medical training. That is why we have over-the-counter medications. Others cannot be treated by most doctors, which is why we have sub-specialists. Whether changing the way you think about something can have a therapeutic effect also does not determine whether something is a disease. Actually, most diseases are susceptible to the mindset of the diseased. The mind's involvement in a variety of diseases is highlighted by the placebo effect, i.e. thinking you are receiving a potent drug for something will have an actual physical, therapeutic effect even if the "drug" is actually just a sugar pill. Of course you get the placebo effect stacked with the pharmacological effect of the drug when you're taking effective medicine. A disease of the mind, like addiction, is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain much like other diseases can be caused by chemical imbalances elsewhere. And while psychiatry might be underdeveloped compared to other areas of medicine, that does not mean mental illness is not a disease. Many addictions have very real physical components. For example, alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening. Caffeine withdrawal gives many people headaches. Of course mental anguish isn't any less real than anything else, it's just harder to quantify. Behavioral modification's role also does not determine what is and is not a disease. It can change the course of many diseases. With addiction you stop use and deal with the symptoms. You have cured yourself when your symptoms subside. Some people can also cure Type 2 diabetes by diet and exercise alone (though most people fail), and I doubt you dispute that T2DM is a real disease. So what is a disease? Something going wrong/abnormal with your body that interferes with functionality. And yes, your mind is part of your body. Disease is not a word that should imply anything about fault or control, one way or the other. AIDS is a disease, but it certainly can be acquired through irresponsible behavior. It is true that some people are more susceptible to disease than others, including addiction. Some people will get addicted more easily than others. But everybody has the power to make the most of their situation. Just because somebody is more easily addicted to something doesn't mean they're powerless to help themselves or seek help.
I suffer from MSB. It makes me edgy and tense. Sometimes it prevents me from concentrating on my work and it makes me especially irritable with my wife. Let's all pull together and fight Massive Sperm Buildup. If men had the P.R. firm that women do we'd have telethons for MSB. When an illness, for which there is no objective test, has a benefit to the "sufferer", yes, I think it's suspect. Whether the benefit is cash from the government, time off work, or an excuse for bad behavior is immaterial. I remember my son who was deathly ill one morning and couldn't go to school. I asked which class had the test and he said, "History." I would like to compliment the Coast Guard. My step-daughter, who suffered terribly from PMS, joined the Coast Guard. Within a few weeks she threw one of her copyrighted temper tantrums and the Coast Guard introduced her to Mr. Brig. You won't believe what happened. It was miracle. She was cured. Well, until she got married. Then the dreaded PMS returned but only at home. Go figure. Oh, those poor suffering sick teachers in Wisconsin.
some addictions could be considered diseases, even if they are self inflicted. really addictive substances like heroin, crack, etc, (even alcohol) can reach the point where it actually changes your body chemistry to need that substance to function. you can die from from withdrawl. not all addictions can be cured with a 12 step program either. if you have a serious heroin addiction, you need medical attention when you quit, because like i said, withdrawl can kill you.
physcial dependency is not in a persons head. thats the distinction between physical addiction and mental addiction. physically addictive substances change your body chemistry in a way where it needs those substances to function properly, thats what causes withdrawl.
Because most of them truly don't want to quit. They just say that to please the people who bug them about it.
No, I'm an alcoholic who quit and I'm a smoker who quit. I know hundreds who have quit drinking and a lot who have quit smoking. It's not hard when you decide it's time. It's very hard when your wife decides it's time for you to quit or your boss decides it's time for you to quit but when you decide, it isn't hard. I agree with JThorp24. When your wife says you have to quit smoking it's, "Oh, gee, I've really tried but the darned cigarette companies and their darned advertising just make it, you know, like really, really hard." I'm reminded in this thread of the millions and millions of people who eat hardly anything and weigh over 300 pounds. It's their metabolism. That's why, when you see pictures of people in concentration camps, one of a hundred inmates is horribly fat. Right? It's their metabolism. Eating one potato peel a day makes them fat.
I'm glad for you, but I'm not sure why you conclude your experiences are generalizable to everybody else. Obviously it's hard for some people. Many people continue to use despite knowing the risks to themselves and those near them. Obviously you're being facetious, but the fact of the matter is that some people eating my diet would be fatter than me, and some people eating my diet would be skinnier than me. Obesity may be a function of the calories in exceeding the calories out, but the primary determinant is the basal metabolic rate, which varies. But I'm not sure why we need to fixate on whether the fat or addicted person is at fault or not. Some people have it tougher than others. Sure. That doesn't change the fact that they should try to change their behavior.
Who cares if it's a little harder for some? Personal accountability is key. I'm tired of people blaming their own personal problems on people other than themselves.
Addiction is a decision and not a disease. The "doctors" handing out sickness notes at the teacher union rally in Wisconsin are the same "doctors" that espouse social decisions as diseases (i.e. anything for a buck).
Many people do things that aren't good for them despite the risks. Of course they do. That's not because they can't do anything different. It is because, for a variety of reasons, they don't want to. Facetious? Me? Obesity MAY be a function of calories in exceeding the calories out...? May be? Could possibly be? That is exactly the cause. You hit the nail on the head but you want to pretend you didn't. Facetious or not, you didn't see any fat people in the picture, did you? For different people, different risks are acceptable. I don't drink or smoke but I do live in Mexico. That terrifies a lot of Americans. But, as with people who drink and smoke, I perceive benefits in living in Mexico and they perceive benefits in drinking and smoking.
I can't say firsthand about much on addiction. I've never smoked, drank a beer or wine socially. I bite my fingernails, I'm not perfect you see, but biting the nails isn't hazardous to your health unless you break a tooth, which I did do, so, no none of us are perfect. My parents smoked and it made the house stink. My brother and I never smoked. He's a serious athlete and wouldn't harm his health.
I bit my fingernails for about thirty years but I quit that, too. Maybe I'm just a quitter. But, I'm fat. I haven't quit eating. My mother was a wonderful cook and although my parents smoked our house smelled wonderful. My wife had PMS and will have it when it's convenient for the rest of her life.
they dont want to quit, because they are addicted. thats what addiction does. nicotine is physically addicting. ive been a pack a day smoker for years now, and people who dont smoke have no idea what its like to think about quitting. i know that its bad for me, i know its probably going to kill me, but i cant stop. the best analogy i can give to smoone whos never experienced addiction, the though of quitting smoking is like the thought of giving up food. thats what it feels like. and quitting isnt as easy as it might seem to someone who doesnt smoke. its harder then just putting down the lighter, because then you have to deal with the iratability, discomfort, hard time sleeping, hard time concentrating, shakes. im not trying to put the blame on anyone else, it is absolutely my fault that im addicted to cigarettes, but the addiction i feel is real, and somebody whos never experienced it can have no idea.
You enjoyme: "they dont want to quit, because they are addicted. thats what addiction does." Wonderful example of circular thinking. I didn't smoke for years. I smoked for decades. I enjoyed smoking. It gave me something to do when I was nervous or anxious. It gave me an excuse. Did anyone want me to quit? Hell, yes. Totally strangers thought they had a right to rag me about it. I couldn't smoke within 25' of a window that didn't friggin' open. Someone sitting 50' away, outside, complained I was killing them. No, but I was close. But, I decided I needed to quit smoking. So, I quit. I had about three days of nicotine withdrawal. There is no drug that stays permanently in your system effecting you. After that, it was breaking the habit. I cheated though. I was at a dinner party and desperately needed to get away from the people so I announced it was time for a cigarette and went outside. Darn, someone else came out. They lit up a cigarette, offered me one, and I laughed and said, "I don't smoke. I just need to escape." He laughed, too. I haven't smoked in a long time but I keep it a secret so I can still take smoke breaks.
