Blaizze

Ok... So I don't know if this is the right part ofthe forum to ask this or not but here it goes. Is it the general consensus on here that addiction is a disease? Or better yet do you personally think it is? A lot of ppl seem to say that the only way to not be Addicted to something is to never have that substance be it alcohol or whatever. The whole point of me asking this is because I don't believe that at all. I believe that moderation is in ones abilities w/o ever falling into a binge/recover pattern. You can attribute that to me having been addicted to numerous things in my past if you want, it is still a personal philosophy that I have always had. I think that is why I always had a hard time admitting I was letting myself get out of control. Not saying that I don't want to quit bein addicted to alcohol just a little curious on everyone elses perspective on the matter.

lizisme

I have a disease, I was born with it and so were many of my family members going back generations. The disease was sneaky, it lay dormant...until that first drink at 15, it grabbed hold and hung on with a vengeance. I never have nor will I ever be able to drink in moderation. I accept this and believe this wholeheartedly as fact. This is how it is for me. I hope whatever you believe works for you, I truly do :-)

langkah

I'd suggest that you look at your experience. If you're able to moderate then your answer is 'yes, moderation is perfectly fine for me because I would never ever allow myself to binge.'

And then go ahead with that.

Dee74

I no longer care whether I have a disease, an addiction, a genetic predisposition, a really bad habit, or whatever else people postulate these days

Alcohol and I have a really bad, toxic and dysfunctional relationship.
In the end I didn't need to understand things any deeper than that to cut alcohol out of my life.

It took me a while to get there tho.

My experience is I tried for twenty years to moderate...in the end my desperate drive to do that, in the face of ever mounting evidence to the contrary, nearly literally killed me.

Moderation was never 'within my abilities' I'm afraid.

I really hope people reading this don't reach the lows I did...and I hope they don't need to take 20 years to work out that drinking is, to borrow a colloquialism, a mugs game for drinkers like me.

D

BillyPilgrim

I have been thinking about this a lot. I used to be able to drink beer no problem , I would get bloated , but never have an urge to drink myself silly. However, I had my first wine at 15, on an exchange holiday in France. I was hooked immediately, first time I got drunk was that holiday. Never touched wine again until Uni, but we went out for a meal from our hall, and hey, I was hammering the wine down. I think I have always had that weakness for alcohol, every time me and wine met, wine beat me.
I still imagine it sometimes sitting on a beach in France, with crusty bread and cheese, tempting me, but I know I cant go there, I never could. It took me to 50 to admit it

BackToSquareOne

Even the pros can't agree, here's one arguement : Corrupted Choice

flutter

I don't personally feel that I have a disease.. but I do know that I was physically and psychologically dependent on alcohol, and I never ever want to be again, so I don't drink.

sugarbear1

Not sure what to call it, but I don't metabolize alcohol like another person. I tend to continue, then everything falls apart.

I don't drink. It was my solution to all things, but I found a new solution. I don't need to ingest alcohol like I used to. Does a label really matter?

Sapling

I think it's a disease...Could be an allergy....But I know I'm an abnormal drinker....Moderation...What's that?

OCDDan

Moderation is where you drink one or two and then stop.

desertsong

I don't know if it's an addiction, a disease, an allergy, or what. All I know is that I can't drink again. Ever. Moderation never existed for me; once I take that first drink, it's "game on." I could either keep going the way I was or stop ... no in between existed for me. So I chose to stop rather than continue that horrible downward spiral that would not end in anything good.

Sapling

I do believe that acoholism is an addiction of more....More....More...More...I can't buy a bag of M & M's without eating three quarters of the damn thing....But I'm getting better...With time.

Threshold

i believe there are different siurces and causes for addictive behavior. I do not believe my addiction is a disease. It is an attempt to deal with anxiety and depression, an attempt gone haywire. For me it's a mental condition.

JayAngel

I simply cannot moderate alcohol. I drink, and drink, until I'm sedated and then pass out. Those were the "good" nights. The bad ones were hell. And I grew tired of letting some liquid run my life. When my friends laughed at the idea of me quitting, I realized I had become a drunk in their eyes. This has made me want to quit more. To prove to myself that I'm more than just "a heavy alcohol drinker who gets belligerent all the time." So far, so good. I've reached a level where the THOUGHT of drinking alcohol gets me uncomfortable. It just isn't fun anymore.

scrambled2012

Moderation? If thats stopping before I'm satisifed with my buzz, what's the point of drinking in the first place?

I don't want to drink again. Thats all I know.

Zencat

Whether alcoholism is a disease, disorder, illness, allergy or space born virus is interesting to read as an educational pursuit. Whatever alcoholism is matters not to me personally when I have a problem with alcohol. My concern is about not drinking and how to go about that.

Here's an interesting anti-disease model article about alcoholism.

The Benefits of Addiction: Why Alcoholics Drink

unentschieden

Once again, thanks Dee for this perspective. When you responded to my first post with something similar to this I realized that I was focusing on the wrong issue. Its like I needed to know if I fit the definition in order to consciously accept I had a problem with alcohol (I had known, for a long time, however, just chose not to listen.)

With the responses I received to my first SR post (which asked similar questions to this one) the whole "can I moderate/is it a disease debate" became moot.

People who don't have a problem with alcohol don't sit around and debate whether or not they have a problem with alcohol.

I did, and I do, and I will never wish to just have one. Therefore I choose to have none.

sober4metoday

For me, my alcoholism is not a disease. It's me exhibiting selfish, self-destructive bad behavior. I can't blame it on anything! I make that choice to have that drink and it's not because I'm craving or going through withdrawals. Nope - I drank because I am SELFISH. I drank because it was easier to place the blame with alcohol rather than take responsibility for where my life was. As sick as it sounds I almost relied on alcohol to hold me back! It was a great emotional crutch. I could continue to feel sorry myself and beat myself up. All that selfish self-pity I couldn't get enough of!

No more. Each and everyday I am doing at least one thing that gives my life meaning. I am going to change my thinking, change my behavior and change my life!

macknacat

Dee and Zencat are right on: doesn't matter except as an intellectual discussion. I am in recovery from a life threatening behavior....

and the folks i know who went back out and tried it - well, have yet to see it look attractive enough to tempt me...

RobbyRobot

I made the below post in a different thread the other day, and it fits here too. The share sums up my experiences with alcoholism:


I'm a recovered alcoholic drug addict. Alcoholic as defined by AA Big Book. My alcoholic illness is presently arrested and in remission. My alcoholic thinking mind is now alseep and null. Now changed out for an active sober thinking mind. My drinking problem has been removed. I am sober. I live a spiritual life.

When I drank, my alcoholic illness manifested as a physical allergy, a mental obsession, a spiritual malady. My illness is absolutely chronic. Abstinence is the only practical solution to my drinking of alcohol, and without that solution I would simply go about the business of drinking myself to death sooner or later, and one way or the other. Insanity and immorality would be my constant companions as I kept picking up that next drink. Alcoholism the illness is beyond my power of control and I was condemed to be its eternal servant in every sense of the word as I drank that alcoholic drink.

I now am free and in control of me and no longer a servant to my alcoholism. My past powerlessness with alcohol is a past experience and I do not in any way suffer from powerlessness today. I do not drink any more and therefor I have no alcoholic requirement for having any present awareness of powerlessness related to alcohol and alcoholism. My freedom enjoyed is permanent and irrevocable. I will answer to many names. Ex-alcoholic. Ex-drunk. Former drunk. Past alcoholic. Recovered addict. Sober drunk. They all appy in one way or the other. I prefer recovered alcoholic drug addict.

Since my alcoholism is adequately defined by AA, it goes without saying my sober solution for that alcoholism is the AA program of recovery. AA recovery is my foundation bedrock. Having said that, it is important for me to also state that a bedrock solution is a basic requisite necessity to keep my alcoholism in remission and arrested. For lack of better words, in summation, I have since a long, strange time ago been rocketed in to another dimension of existence when I look with my mind's eye into the rearview mirror of my alcoholic life. I am more then just a member of AA. I am unplugged and have been for many years now. I enjoy new challenges for personal growth and to continue my journey with an open mind and heart. I am humbly grateful and I am FOREVER responsible to my sober heritage. I would no more deny my beginings then a leopard would change its spots. I am at peace with my own understandings.