The medical model:
ASAM Definition of Addiction
NIDA answer:
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publicatio...buse-addiction
Alternative Psychology Today viewpoint:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...really-disease
I think the discussion is relevant because the answer affects how we treat addiction and how we treat ourselves (whether or not we seek treatment).
I don't have a problem with the disease model because I've looked at various brain scans and can see the differences in addicts vs. non-addicts. There is also a fair amount of well-established information regarding the role of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, in particular.
Addicts are not "at ease" and so they are dis-eased. That's enough for me. But suffering disease does not mean it's permanent. Depending on the damage done, many experience partial if not full recovery. The depression and anhedonia that lead so many in early recovery into relapse is very much a brain problem. It's the dopamine reward system gone off the rails.
I have a brain disease. I like thinking that better than I'm insane and I need a higher power to somehow cure it. I'm not crazy, I've learned a lot about what's happening in my brain and in my mind, and I'm in remission. That feels pretty good. And I did it with support from my wife and dogs, a lot of reading, a lot of meditating, and a whole lot of heartache that is mostly in the past.