Dee74

LOL I'd be disappointed if posts were deleted.

More often than not here, there's something to think about from every post, and there's nothing to be scared of from a dissenting viewpoint either.

I'd hate us to lose sight of why we're here - I may disagree, but I can't dictate what might work for someone else - there's absolutely nothing to be gained playing us and them IMO


D

Zencat

I'm all for that as long as there are some guidelines enforced here at Secular Connections

Katie09

And I am glad too! Thank you so much! I have decided to go "home" for a bit. I find it hard to live without family and friends - although people like you D make it a lot easier :ghug2

meditation

I probably have nothing new to add to this thread. I was told repeatedly in rehab it was a disease. I don't believe it.

I think it's a neurotransmitter re-rerouter issue. Thus why picking back up to almost the same point in active addiction after being clean/sober is a problem. Whether it is a disease that has a treatment and a cure I rather doubt that.

I am not powerless over drugs. I seriously have the choice to swallow something or not. That is not a disease in my book. If one has cancer one can't willpower one's way out of the disease. I can't decide I am done with cancer and it will be gone.
But I can choose to not swallow, ingest a substance and I have that choice.
. I don't obsess about getting or using drugs daily, and maybe the grace of God is watching out for me but I feel that it is my decision that I am powerful over drugs and can decide without mumbo jumbo and prayer over it that I am done. I think addiction can be broken once a person has had enough or the pain of the addiction. MInd over matter so to speak.

shockozulu

12 Step Programs are off topic for this forum and posts discussing 12 Step Programs will be removed. Please use the Secular 12 Step Forum for positive topics on Secular 12 Step Recovery.

Bamboozle

Geez...I'm late again.


I see it as an addiction that can lead to being in a diseased state if the illness progresses enough. Some people consume so much on a daily basis that stopping without supervised medical detox is potentially fatal. People at this point need to consume alcohol to live.

I never got that far. I think (hope) my internal workings are doing just fine. Could I ever become end-stage? You bet. That’s where choice comes in.

Even those who have chronic conditions as a result of alcohol addiction still have a choice to not pick up. There are resources available to detox safely and any lasting conditions can be treated if not cured.

I don’t think people who say it’s a disease use it as an excuse to drink. Also, I don’t think that addiction should be classified in the same way as cancer. It’s in a different category--I see addiction as a very serious and sometimes fatal mental illness. The same can be said for depression.

There is hope through choice. I do think it’s hard to choose to be sober, and everyone who makes the choice to be sober should be very proud of making that decision. It is an accomplishment. It’s a chance for a better life. Sometimes remembering that I’m still sober helps to get me through the day when my depression is overwhelming.

This is a time for personal growth…for me and for so many others here. Thanks for the thread, Katie. I love the discussions at SC.

mistycshore

I like what you said. Even if I had some other problem, cancer or whatever, I wouldn't feel free from responsibility for my own actions but also would not feel responsible for the condition itself. This is not something I chose, and I'm very certain that no human being ever "chose" to be schizophrenic or chronically depressed or diabetic or alcoholic or whatever. It doesn't mean that people who suffer from those things should, or do, automatically consider themselves innocent of their own actions.

It seems to me that refusal to acknowledge that the condition exists (I care not whether you label it as disease, disorder, condition, etc.) is the bogus way out. That sounds to me like the fast track to hell. Just because I have this bad thing doesn't mean that I can't be a good person. I can still consider what impact I'm having on myself and the world around me. If I ever come to believe that this thing has rendered me incapable of doing that - please kill me.

tyler

Addiction is not just the physical aspect of using. I am not physically addicted to either marajuana or alcohol, but as the last 20+ years of self inflicted destruction clearly shows, I am addicted.

As for the whole disease vs addiction argument, it is one that I have pondered long and hard. I have allowed to to be a convienent excuse to stand in the way of my recovery. I guess the conclusion I have reached is it is basically an arguement over semantics. If calling it a disease makes it more helpful to your recovery, than so be it. Conversly having to "admit you are diseased" is harmful to your recovery, and thinking of it as an addiction is more helpful, than that is the correct path. At the end of the day what you are dealing with is a problem. All a problem needs is a solution, the tricky part is finding the solution that works for you. BTW I include myself in the collective "you".!!

shockozulu

Tyler, long time no see! I miss your 'surfing' through.

I'm off to bed but had to say hello when I saw your name.