Addiction is a disease?

[12AX7]

Well this is an interesting topic. What brought it on?

Anyways, Yes I agree. Many things labelled disorder may, or may not be. Further, to say they are all caused by "brain chemical imbalances" leads to some interesting questions. Ones that should really be answered before handing out mind altering chemicals and stigmatizing people with the "disorder" label.

For example, if you say there's a brain chemical imbalance... er... ummm... how did you establish what in balance is? How did you establish then, that an imbalance was present?

Like many legal issues, the extremes are clear right? Insanity in its extreme forms are clearly visible. The big question is, where is the line between disorder and simple human variation, or what may be refered to as excentricity. Or even evolution?

And what of cultural impact. Kill your enemy and fry them up for dinner here in the USA, you are criminally insane. *Don't* do that in some tribal cultures and you're insane, right? LOL!

Anyway, I'm all for much stricter definitions and diagnosis than what presently passes. The big childhood ADD debate comes to mind.

I think the questions I posed above should be answered and further, that methods of screening out false positives should be given some thought.

For example, someone who is fastidious about dirt and crud. Obsessive, or someone who is clearly aware of physical reality.

An example of this jumped out at me the other day.

I was at a new Bashas. A food chain. There was a little display with sterile wipes. It said, "To clean the basket handles and child seat area for your protection, The Management".

However, had you gone to another grocery store with your own wipies... someone might label you an OCD sufferer, right?

So anyway, yeah, I try to bear in mind doctors are "health care provider" not trained scientists/researchers.

As an aside, I believe some sources state modern Psychiatry was dying on the vine until a point in the 70's when the APA got in bed with the drug companies.

You really want an eye popper, go study the history of the "ice pick lobotomy" and just what was going on a scant 50 years ago.

The science of the mind is still very embrionic. I do believe it might have been Einstien that said the only thing the brain will never figure out is itself. LOL!