Originally Posted by
failedtaper 
I am just reminded of the person undergoing forced "sobriety", as in someone who is incarcerated or being forced into a rehab facility. I just can't get behind the idea that those people are "sober" except in a technical sense.
AVRT, essentially being the nuts and bolts of free will, cannot be forced or "done to" anyone. There is a distinction made between chemical dependence, which is willfully using drugs and accepting the consequences, and addiction, which is using drugs in spite of the desire to quit using them or to minimize the consequences of doing so.
Within the AVRT paradigm, without ambivalence towards using, there is no addiction. In other words, if you don't want to quit at all, then you aren't addicted. That said, it is probably a fair bet to assume that most chemically dependent people are in fact addicted, but only they can truly know that. No one else can diagnose them as addicted, so to speak.
From the Rational Recovery dictionary:
Originally Posted by Rational Recovery Dictionary
Addiction:- Addiction is chemical use or dependence that exists against one's own better judgment, and persists in spite of efforts to control or eliminate the use of the substance. Logically, since addiction is known only to the individual, it may not be "diagnosed" except by directly asking the individual.
- Addicted people are not out of control, in the usual sense of the word, but have reversals of intent which lead back to drinking or drugging.
- Addiction exists only in a state of ambivalence, in which one strongly wants to continue drinking alcohol or using other drugs, but also wants to quit or at least reduce the painful consequences. With AVRT, recovery from addiction is a simple, mercifully brief undertaking.
- Chemically enhanced stupidity.
Chemical dependence:- The use of any substance for any purpose. For example, "I use salt to make my food taste good. I depend upon salt to make food taste better." Or, "I breathe oxygen to stay alive. I use or depend upon oxygen to survive." Or, "I take aspirin for headaches. I use or depend upon aspirin to relieve pain." Or, "I drink vodka to feel different. I use or depend upon vodka to produce certain feelings." Or, "I drink beer to have a good time. I use or depend upon beer to enjoy a party."
- Chemical dependence (esp., upon drugs and alcohol) is an individual liberty with known health risks and known personal disadvantages including regrettable behavior, social ostracism, relationship problems, divorce, unemployment, and imprisonment. If one is willing to accept the risks, chemical dependence is a "legitimate" option. Regardless of the content of prohibition laws and the best efforts of law enforcement and others who oppose chemical dependence, using alcohol and drugs for pleasure is a personal liberty that cannot realistically be controlled by others.
Substance abuse:- Abnormal or aberrant use of alcohol or drugs.
- Someone else's opinion about an individual's use of certain substances. For example, a homeless person who regularly drinks to oblivion may be abusing alcohol but may not be addicted or even have an alcohol problem. Some might call the person "an alcoholic," but this only describes behavior, adds nothing to our understanding, and helps not at all. If the drinker in question is simply using alcohol for its effect, which is physical comfort or pleasure, he or she is merely chemically dependent. Whether or not the homeless drinker wants to discontinue drinking cannot be known except by asking him or her. If he/she doesn't want to quit drinking and accepts the reality of homelessness, there is no reason or effective way to interfere with that person's choice. If the answer is, "Yes, I do want to quit drinking but I can't get stopped and stay stopped," then that person is addicted and has a very good prospect of complete recovery through planned abstinence.
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