Addiction is a disease?
 

I decided to post this here instead of in OOT (which seems to be my new home). When people say addiction is a disease without a cure, do they mean this literally or is it metaphorical? I am not as concerned here with the "cure" part as I am the "disease" part. And I am not just talking about gambling addiction. I mean, all types of addiction. From my understanding all addiction is the same, even if the drug, food, type of sex, etc... is different.

craig

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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When people say addiction is a disease without a cure, do they mean this literally or is it metaphorical?

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Both. I can't speak for all addictions, but scientists believe that alcoholics have a genetic predisposition toward their addiction. Whether this makes their alcoholism inevitable from birth is not known.

What is known is that no alcoholic is ever cured of his disease. There are no ex-alcoholics, only recovering alcholics. The only solution is to abstain.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

Addiction is a disease.

When you see first hand what it can do to your family and people you know you will understand. People can become monsters and do things that they know are wrong and justify it with [censored] that only makes sense to them, they become posessed, they aren't even human, their mind is turned off and the drugs take over the conrols.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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From my understanding all addiction is the same, even if the drug, food, type of sex, etc... is different.

craig

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This part is not exactly true. For example a heroin addiction is going to have different features than a sex addiction.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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From my understanding all addiction is the same, even if the drug, food, type of sex, etc... is different.

craig

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This part is not exactly true. For example a heroin addiction is going to have different features than a sex addiction.

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Aren't the underlying traits of an addictive personality pretty much the same though?

Obviously something that causes a physical addiction (drug) will present differently than a psychological addiction. (sex, gambling etc.)

I'd argue that certain individuals are wired to be addicts. Physical or psychological. Multiple addictions are not uncommon.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

The American Medical Association identified addiction to alcohol as a disease. This is from one of the AMA’s publications:

“H-95.983 Drug Dependencies as Diseases

The AMA
1. endorses the proposition that drug dependencies, including alcoholism, are diseases and that their treatment is a legitimate part of medical practice, and
2. encourages physicians, other health professionals, medical and other health related organizations, and government and other policymakers to become more well informed about drug dependencies, and to base their policies and activities on the recognition that drug dependencies are, in fact, diseases. (Res. 113, A-87)”

Forget the definition of “disease” in the sense that you can take a pill or shot to “cure” it. The effects of addictions are physical, mental and spiritual and require treatment of all three areas.

The “drug of choice,” alcohol, chemical drugs or sex, doesn’t seem to matter. The stories of addicts usually have commonalities.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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Obviously something that causes a physical addiction (drug) will present differently than a psychological addiction. (sex, gambling etc.)

I'd argue that certain individuals are wired to be addicts. Physical or psychological. Multiple addictions are not uncommon.

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There is a widely-held theory as to a gene that either triggers or allows an addiction. The hardwiring you mention. There is a lot of debate about the psychological side.

The physical damage, some think, leads to the psychological damage. Others think it's just the opposite. But, IMO, given enough time, they'll always be in accompaniment.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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This part is not exactly true. For example a heroin addiction is going to have different features than a sex addiction.

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Yes, there are subtle differences. But the overall effects seem to be the same.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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When you see first hand what it can do to your family and people you know you will understand. People can become monsters and do things that they know are wrong and justify it with [censored] that only makes sense to them, they become posessed, they aren't even human, their mind is turned off and the drugs take over the conrols.

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Substitute the word "drugs" with alcohol, gambling, sex, food, etc., and you can say the same thing. It's the addiction, not the means.

Re: Addiction is a disease?
 

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This part is not exactly true. For example a heroin addiction is going to have different features than a sex addiction.

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There are significant elements that make something like heroin different than other addictions. Your body rapidly develops a chemical dependency on heroin. Many people become addicated after one use. Almost everyone that uses heroing a few times becomes addicted and treatment is extraordinarly difficult....so much so that another dangerous and long term damaging drug, methadone, is used to allow people to sorta function because they cannot completely end the addiction.

So something like heroin is different because it is chemical based as well as emotion and mental based. Unlike sex addiction which is entirely emotional/mental.