Forward12

Having the alcoholic monster inside us isn't a choice, but to fight against it and choose not to feed it is.

EndGameNYC

Welcome back, earthsteps.

Since I can't know that I have a chemical predisposition to addictive behaviors, then how can I make a choice to activate those chemicals by drinking?

fred59

as long as it is classified as a disease recovery programs get funding, for me drinking was a choice and because it is a powerful drug I became addicted emotionally and physically.
I was certainly sick, I do not like this debate but that is my opinion and I will never say I have the disease of alcoholism.

2ndhandrose

I did not choose to be an alcoholic any more than I chose to have blue eyes.

I did choose to stop drinking and to stay stopped everyday.

I am still a blue eyed alcoholic.

Forester

I see it as a choice.

Once we take enough alcohol we experience the other effects of this deadly drug, including addiction and dependence. But I don't see those effects as a disease, just as the effect of alcohol. I don't know if I'm crazy but I don't accept what people call the "AV". I think it's just the drug working through me. I deny it being me and it stops, instantly. I stopped smoking the same way also. Admitting to myself that I am an alcohol addict was the hard part. Accepting and being aware of the effect of the drug and refuting it is much easier, for me anyway.

JamesfrmEngland

Obviously a choice, and it's your choice to stop or continue drinking. But as you take more drinks you lose some of your ability to choose as your logic becomes impaired and judgement begins to get overriden by reduced executive function.

Volshen

I consider it a choice.

zerothehero

This is a pretty good answer: https://niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health...-use-disorders

And this: https://niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health...-use-disorders

Which begs the question whether or not a "disorder" is a "disease."

Dis - ease; not at ease.

esinger

If it is a disease then every unhealthy habit we ever partake in is a disease. Smoking, over eating, chewing your fingernails.......... all diseases. It may get to the point that it causes a disease but the act of putting poison in your body is not. I see it as a compulsion and some people are more naturally more compulsive than others.
Regardless, it's your choice whether to quit or not.

Dame

These are ALL such well considered answers: far more comprehensive than the stuff I've heard from some "Addictions Specialists."

This is just one reason why I keep recommending SR (and tell Drs. about it!)

Thanks

Lightning Bug

Thanks Endgane. Good to see you. I misworded that, sorry. I meant we activate the misfiring neurons by drinking, not that we choose to activate them. Total brain fart on my part!

Dee74

Hi Kaily

My inner addict convinced me I had to work out whether alcoholism is a choice or disease before I could stop.

Ten years went by.

My advice is to stop. You can work out the whys later.

Your analytical mind will be all the keener a few weeks down the track.

D

Kaily

My answer was short and sweet.
I said It was a choice but no longer is.

Reading this thread I think I answered incorrectly....food for thought!

JimC60

Kaily,

I'm not so sure that you answered incorrectly. Many have posted the sentiments of Sandy Swenson (below); almost all have declared their sobriety as a choice .

"ADDICTION CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE" by Sandy Swenson

"Before my son was an addict, he was a child.

My child.

But he could have been anyone's child. He could have been - or might yet be - yours.

Until the troubles started, I never thought my child would become an addict. It never crossed my mind.

Until one day it did.

Before my son was an addict, he liked to fish and camp; he was an Eagle Scout and a rescue diver; he built a playground for orphans in India, he wanted to be a marine biologist, and he was awarded scholarships from several colleges.

He also sometimes lied and said things that were mean and sulked and was crabby; in other words, Joey was perfectly normal.

There's a widely held belief that addicts are bad people, but the truth is, addiction is not an issue for moral judgment. Addiction has nothing whatsoever to do with whether a person is nice, or the quality of their character, or the strength of their will.

Addiction is a disease. Scientific research has proven this; the addicted brain exhibits measurable changes - this is fact. And, most addiction begins in adolescence, strongly enticed by popular culture.

Addiction begins where dalliance - or doctors orders - becomes disease. It can happen to anyone who has taken a sip or puff or snort - or even a pill prescribed for pain.

Even though my son had done some bad things while being an addict, my son is not a bad person. He is a sick person. When addiction scooped up my child, it did so indiscriminately; Joey, at his core, is one of the least bad people I know.

Before my son was an addict, I used to judge the dusty addict on the corner very harshly. But now I know that being an addict isn't something anyone would choose.

Now I know that the addict on the corner has been my sweet child - and could someday be yours. I wish I hadn't waited for the worst to happen before I opened my eyes and heart. Before I looked beneath the addict's dust to the person he was meant to be. To the person my child could just as easily have become - and did.

Before my son was an addict, he was a child. Not a monster.

Addiction can happen to anyone."

Sandy Swenson is the mother of two sons - one of whom is an alcoholic and drug addict. "The Joey Song" chronicles her journey through the place where love and addiction meet.

One day at a time,

Jim

shortstop81

I can only speak for myself.

I started drinking so young that it would be silly to call my addiction a 'choice'. I liken it to adults in sexual relationships with minors - sure I could have said "yes", but I was too young to really consent because I lacked any kind of understanding.

But it was my choice to seek help, and it's my choice to continue to do the things I need to do to remain sober.

Addiction is its own unique beast. Impossible to compare and categorize IMHO. I believe that whatever perception or model helps the individual deal with it, is the right one.

jessie65

Of course nobody chooses to be an alcoholic, it's the choice of drinking versus the disease concept.

I know many will disagree but I never believed in the whole disease thing. A disease to most is something we can't control once it is in us. I believe there is always a choice whether to drink or not. Otherwise nobody would be in recovery.
And those with cancer have no choice in the matter. They can fight it all they want but there's no choice to make.

Just my opinion.

Nowsthetime

Hello all:

I don't know the answer but I can't bring myself to compare my situation with that of a cancer patient for example...

I feel sometimes use the "disease" as a shield. I believe we DO have some responsibility...

Jtmlk

Always a difficult subject, at first i played the victim and had a progressive disease then after AVRT i was woken to the fact that i have total responsibility and choice- i can choose either to put alsohol in me or not- nobody else can make that choice but me. I made an adult decision to become a non drinker and thats what i am.
I would add though that in my mind the most useful post on this thread is Dee's when he put
My inner addict convinced me I had to work out whether alcoholism is a choice or disease before I could stop.

Ten years went by.

My advice is to stop. You can work out the whys later.
This is superb advice and made me smile as was similar to what i previously did.