Goodfellas

Do you believe addiction is a disease ? Do you think Certain individuals (us?$ are more prone to addiction ?

For me personally I can basically get addicted to anything , however many friends of mine have drank , popped a pill , gone shopping etc - -and they do it "normally " - as in a non distructive way.


Thoughts ?

Mountainmanbob

I think that for some it may get to the point where I would call it sin, abuse or being addicted, yet others never get to that point and appear to never have a problem.
?
M-Bob

Goodfellas

I don't think alcoholism etc is a "disease " FAR from it . Far far far from it

But maybe addiction in and of itself - maybe not a disease but a condition ?

I personally don't think it's a disease Bc while when in the burrows of addiction is is so so hard and sometimes "impossible " to stop - we still CHOOSE to drink/drug/. Etc

I am not powerless over alcohol or drugs or shopping.

Granted once I take that first sip or whatever ,things can spiral out of control but... say for example someone has 7 years sober from booze and they decide to drink again - the bottle didn't force itself into my/ your mouth- we CHOSE to drink


Idk - just thinkin out loud

MIRecovery

What it is or isn't is immaterial. It is what we do about it that counts

Goodfellas

Right on (:

I'm looking for opinions on the original subject/OP 🙂

fini

i think of it as a 'condition'. with symptoms.

i have a question for you, Goodfellas: since it's all CHOICE in your out-loud thinking....why would you/i/we/anyone keep making such insane choice over and over?
just looking for your opinion here, out of interest.

freshstart57

I think that is what addiction means- dependency on that substance. That dependency can be physical, psychological, emotional. We need to keep consuming it, or at least we have become conditioned to believe that we need it. I don't believe that it is insane at all to keep harming ourselves by consuming substances we have become addicted to. Of course, continuing to drink at this point makes us sick.

I agree with GF here, we can choose to keep drinking, or we can choose to quit. I think that is the real point here.

bradly22

I believe it's not a disease. Some people can simply become more easily fixated than others.

wildflower70

I believe that alcoholism is not a disease, but rather a dis-ease.

The term dis-ease is often used by holistic healing individuals and communities who are aligned with health and wellness. The emphasis is placed on the natural state of "ease" being imbalanced or disrupted, rather than a particular ailment or illness.

If addiction is placing you in a state of disruption or imbalance , you would be at dis-ease with yourself, or your life.

Algorithm

I can't speak for Goodfellas, but for my part, this thing organized my thought patterns around a perverse mandate to drink, drink, drink, all the while concealing its existence. Once exposed, it could be defeated.

A better question for Goodfellas might be "What is your present plan for your future use of alcohol and other drugs? Are you going to drink/use again in this lifetime, or are you not?"

In other words, what exactly is your choice regarding your addiction?

Algorithm

Do you believe that once at ease, that the addiction would somehow disappear?

Soberpotamus

I'm an intrinsically oriented person, so for me, there was choice at the core of breaking free of the addiction cycle.

For others who are more extrinsically oriented, it could be that they experience recovery from addiction fundamentally differently, and the way out would come from 'outside' of themselves, a power greater, and so on.

Personally, I don't see either approach or orientation as better or more effective or more desirable.

To answer the OP, though, I see addiction as addiction. Addiction can't be compared to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, anxiety disorder, or anything else. It's addiction. And we can get lost in the piles of information published.

I do believe some are more disposed to being addicts, yes. Lots of published info on this out there to be read.

Finding the way out of your own addiction is what's important, whether that's by reaching outside yourself for help (to others or to a higher power), finding your own personal freedom and power of choice within, or a combination of both (I did this, but am mostly intrinsically motivated); this is paramount, imo.

stevieg46

Take alcoholism for example ''alcoholism does not come in bottles '' it comes in people , if it came in bottles then everyone that was drinking would become alcoholics , some people could drink me under the table yet they did not have a problem , they ate breakfast went to work etc , me ? I wanted and needed more alcohol the next morning couldn't face breakfast or work , alcohol controlled me . there were times I couldn't function without it .

I believe alcoholism is a disease , it effects the liver , the kidneys , the body , the brain etc , it kills you eventually . I believe people can have addictive personalities > I had one . take care

Stevie recovered 12 03 2006

JeffreyAK

This is an old debate that will never be resolved unless we can agree first on the definition of "disease".

Staying pickled in alcohol long-term results in a medical condition that provably exists and can only be cured by not drinking alcohol, which is increasingly hard the more and longer you've been drinking (and it's hard because of the medical condition you've drank yourself into). But is that addiction? So this gets dicey too, and we need to agree on the definition of "addiction" as well as "disease" before we can address the question, "Is addiction a disease?" This is why these debates never go anywhere, because the terms aren't defined so everyone understands what they are debating.

Certainly there is a genetic component, and for example twin studies show this. I think the consensus is, part of the susceptibility for becoming addicted (however you like to define it) to alcohol is genetic, the rest is environmental, probably roughly in equal portions.

zerothehero

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.

Maudcat

Hi, Goodfellas. I believe, my opinion only, that the paths to dependency are many and varied. One of the challenges for me in AA was accepting that we all have a disease or an allergy to alcohol. I'll use my experience because that's the one I know. My alcohol dependency was 1) progressive. I was always a drinker. Over the years it took more and more alcohol to give me a buzz and relax me. I recognized that I had a problem with alcohol in my late 50's. 2) situational. I was having a dreadful time with work. Working very hard nights, weekends, and coming to realize that a profession I once loved--teaching--I now disliked and dreaded. Alcohol help me to de-stress FAST and it helped me fall asleep. 3) genetically predisposed. Lots of alcoholism in my family. My father, my sib, grandfather, couple of uncles, cousins, etc. I think all of these things came together to create a perfect storm of alcoholism: me. I got sober in my early 60's with help initially of AA and therapy. AA was wonderful in the tender days of sobriety, but wasn't the program for me long-term. Therapy was...okay, but not wonderfully enlightening. So now I read a lot about alcohol dependency. We are learning more about it all the time, and I listen to recovery podcasts, interviews with addiction specialists (Thank you, Doctor Radio on Sirius XM) and, of course, Sober Recovery. I hope never to be that drunken person again, but I recognize that I just have today. Today I won't drink.

Goodfellas

Bc I and we made awful choices and while
In the trenches of addiction it's much hard to say no. Regardless , even after being sober from booze for over 2 years - if I go get a bottle and drink it- that is my CHOICE. Nothing made me do it


I chose to drink and I.l chose to drink for years Bc I was selfish and it had somewhat "taken" over me / clouded my judgment . But alas , I chose not to drink anymore and now I don't

Goodfellas

I quit my heavy drinking habit about 2 years ago and I will not drink again . That much is certain

awuh1

A disease? That depends on the definition. That question aside, I believe that some of us are much more prone to addiction than others. IMO this can be due to a whole host of factors which can be genetic, psychological, and/or spiritual and which can work alone or in combination with others.

I also believe that there are times when addictions can better be understood as a symptom.

Goodfellas

Well said - thank you for your reply