ChooseSobriety

Hello family,

I have thought about this question over and over throughout the years. I know for me that literally every second of my day involves making a choice, whether it be how I think about another or what snack I may want to eat.

Just how powerful are our "Choices"?

Love,

CS

Dee74

Hey CS

This is really the concomitant to this thread:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...m-disease.html

Like I said there, we all see things interpreted through our own experiences and worldview.

Personally I really don't think there's one right answer.

D

Dee74

I'm going to get in early on this one too.

We welcome discussion, even vigorous discussion, but please keep it civil, and respectful of other points of view.

The Newcomers Forum is a safe and welcoming place for newcomers. Respect is essential. Debates over Recovery Methods are not allowed on the Newcomer's Forum. Posts that violate this rule will be removed without notice. (Support and experience only please.)

Midlifecrisis

Picking up that first drug or drink now that I KNOW I'm an addict is always a choice. I didn't choose to be an addict though. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

LadyinBC

I'm kind of on the fence about that. I mean I definitely think it is a genetic thing and it can also be a learned behaviour. I mean I have a choice I can choose to drink or choose not to. Why is it that some of us can drink in moderation and some can't? Did I have the genetic makeup to become one? Did I learn it from my family? Is it a combination of both? I don't think I will ever really know.

I don't use it as an excuse for me getting drunk though. Not anymore, but I know I used it as one when I was drinking.

I just don't think it is a simple issue.

Michael66

Maybe there is a progression over time from choice --> habit --> addiction --> disease

The further addiction-prone people go along that pathway the harder and harder it becomes to exercise choice. That's probably true of many different destructive behaviours - we can all become progressively entrapped in something that started with our own free will choice. This is not a new thought - Paul in his letter to the Romans described sin as "enslaving". The Christian tradition, like AA, considers that we need help from God once enslaved, but that help is indeed there for all who seek.

Just my thoughts.

Joe Nerv

I never really thought about this until now. And thinking about it, I'd have to say yes, I think addiction is a choice. I don't think anybody intends to get addicted to anything, but once it happens, then I think it become choice. Do we want to do whatever is necessary to stop the addiction, or do we want to live an addicted life? Being sober, the choice also for me, becomes a whole lot easier. I have the choice of living the day without any alcohol, or walking to the deli to buy a beer at lunchtime. Or right now. Choosing to have a cup of coffee instead. Completely up to me.

Curious to hear the argument on the other side. And I may change my mind, as I haven't thought about this a whole lot yet.

ChooseSobriety

"Maybe there is a progression over time from choice --> habit --> addiction --> disease"

Hello Michael66,

The statement you made above has often crossed my mind however, in just a slightly different context..

Addictions are "habitual choices" and over time they become "dis-eases"

I know for me that my "habitual choices" or "addictions" were an attempt to make myself feel whole/complete/better, etc.

Love

CS

Dollyangel17

I do feel it's a disease. Yes there is choice involved to an extent, and some people can overcome it, but I have seen a couple of people drink themselves to death. People who were told that they would die if they didn't stop, and they didn't stop regardless. I'm pretty sure they didn't want to die, and certainly not in that horrible way. One of the men I know who died was only 48 when he died, and was crying moments before he passed. I honestly believe that for some people, the disease is just too much for them.

I chose to drink, but the past year of my drinking, I didn't "want" to drink, and I would repeatedly ask myself why I was because I hated how it made me feel, but I kept raising that glass anyway...I couldn't understand it.

So I guess I think it's a little of both, either way....it's a horrible and sad reality for so many.

choublak

Alcoholism isn't a choice. What you do about it, and how you handle it, is.

ScottFromWI

I don't remember consciously choosing to be an alcoholic, but i certainly developed the telltale signs of it over time. I did choose to be sober though, and i continue to do so every day.

doggonecarl

Are you sober today?

Great choice!

2granddaughters

What is "addiction/alcoholism"? Is it the fact that I can't quit putting the bottle in my mouth or the pill/needle in my body?

Or is the true full description of addiction/alcoholism the spiritual/emotional/mental/physical defects and shortcomings as described in AA's HOW IT WORKS ?

The answer to "Is addiction a choice" must first be approached as "what is addiction?"

I quit drinking/using a few times in my life but I was miserable. Peace and serenity were fleeting, temporary ... something was missing. Did my choice not to drink address my alcoholism or just remove my numbing sedation of it .....

Is alcohol/drugs my addiction ...or is it me?

All the best.

Bob R

coming_clean

Especially the first 3 days in recovery (detox) it felt like it was not me, it was not a choice, somehow some subconsious part of me just wants to get high and destroy itself and thereby myself.

after the fog is cleared, there is no other logical choice but to be sober,

conclusion; a bit of both, mental-slavery and freedom of choice.

ChooseSobriety

Hello all,

I sit here remembering my early days in my favorite AA meeting and the quote that comes to mind that was shared often was "alcohol was my drug of choice". Now that's powerful :-)

Love

CS

jkb

ChooseSobriety-
I dont do AA but, You took the words right out of my mouth..... Jess

Threshold

I started acting out addictively when I was a little kid. So I would say addiction wasn't a choice. If I choose to use now, it' IS a choice because I know I'm an addict and I know what the consequences are. I can choose now to NOT be in active addiction.

I don't have firsthand knowledge of anyone choosing to be an addict, just choosing to use, and finding out the hard way that they ARE an addict.

Maylie

I don't think anyone wants to be addicted, but it is a choice whether to pick up or not.

Thinking of it as a choice rather than a disease helps in a way since saying it is a choice shows that whether we use or not is up to US and no one else. I have seen way too many people who said addiction was a disease use it as an excuse to continue using despite knowing the consequences.

Once you accept that you cannot drink or use, whether it is a disease or a choice doesn't matter much. All that is important is that you don't pick up that first drink or take that first drug and then the symptoms, devastation, chaos, pain, etc. etc. are gone.

I made the choice to start using drugs, I made the choice to use them everyday until I had used them so much that I became physically and mentally dependent, I made the choice to keep using despite the negative consequences, and now I am making the choice to learn from the past and never pick up again

ChooseSobriety

Hello Maylie,

What a very beautiful/balanced and simple response :-) Thank you!

Love,

CS

LadyinBC

I really like this choublak. That makes a lot of sense.