I don't know if I accept alcoholism/addiction as a disease.
I have a disease. It has been managed through several surgeries and hospitalizations. And drug therapies. And dietary changes. I didn't choose to become diseased. I didn't DO anything to become diseased. It just happened. I'm not in denial of my disease.
So......is alcoholism/addiction a disease or a behavioral issue? Behaviors can be as difficult to conquer as a disease.
I'll be honest here.....I don't understand addiction/alcoholism AT ALL. I've read all about it. And I understand that there is a lot of research by people far more intelligent than I am who have concluded that it is a disease.
I have compassion for anyone who becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol. But I still can't help feeling that it was within their power NOT to become addicted. I can certainly say that I have no power over their addiction but......somehow.......I still can't grasp the thought that THEY have no power over their own addiction.
But on the other hand....there are many, many things on this earth that I don't understand and I have no choice but to accept that it is what it is. Should we accept that something is what it is because someone says it is so?
I guess I will never understand addiction unless I walk in the shoes of an addict.....but I have no intention of trying to become an addict so that I can better understand addiction.
Here is MY question......is it imperative to my OWN recovery to accept that addiction is a disease?