lol sugarbear are we down to semantics now?
malady
A malady is an illness, like a malady that keeps you home, sick in bed for days, or something that causes you to have trouble or to suffer, like jet lag — a malady that affects travelers.
Malady, pronounced "MAL-uh-dee," comes from the Latin words male, meaning "bad or ill" and habitus for "have, hold." When you have a malady, it is like something bad is holding you, such as an illness — the common cold: a malady of winter. Some bad habits cause maladies, such as never having any money — the malady of people who spend freely, not thinking of the future.
disease
A disease is a health condition that has a specific set of symptoms and traits — such as malaria or heart disease.
Disease is not always about the human body being sick. Plants and animals are often the victims of disease. People also use the word disease in a more figurative sense to illustrate just how bad or damaging a negative influence can be — like the disease of greed among capitalists or the disease of plagiarism among college students.
illness
n impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism
Synonyms:
malady, sickness, unwellness
sounds all pretty much the same to me
but ok for arguements' sake i will make a mental note to refer to it as a "malady model" vs "a choice"