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Message
re: Alcoholism: Why Is It A Disease?
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:17 am to EarlyCuyler3
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:17 am to EarlyCuyler3
quote:
People who use it as an excuse are going to continue to drink whether you call it a disease or not.
Agreed. It's just now, they get to drink themselves into a grave feeling less guilt, and without taking personal responsibility. It let's them die (and live their remaining life) feeling as though they are victims.
1
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:36 am to Clark W Griswold
I guess my main point on this is that just because you don't have sympathy for alcoholics, doesn't make it not a disease.
You just don't think people deserve the sympathy or treatment or both.
Also, alcoholism is a brain disease where there's a chemical reaction that can and 99% of the time does have physical effects. Just like depression.
And people make the same argument about depression like "YOU are in control of your own happiness". Sorry, it doesn't work that way when you have a legit chemical imbalance like depression (or addiction).
You just don't think people deserve the sympathy or treatment or both.
Also, alcoholism is a brain disease where there's a chemical reaction that can and 99% of the time does have physical effects. Just like depression.
And people make the same argument about depression like "YOU are in control of your own happiness". Sorry, it doesn't work that way when you have a legit chemical imbalance like depression (or addiction).
This post was edited on 6/15/18 at 9:41 am
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:41 am to Clark W Griswold
Addiction is a disease which has voluntary and involuntary aspects. The substance (or activity) doesn't really enter into it among addiction specialists, beyond the treatment regimen and, perhaps, the order in which they need to be treated.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:41 am to MorbidTheClown
I’ve had friends in rehab and none of them referred to their addiction to drugs as a disease. Not one. But anytime someone drinks too much they have a disease. Addiction is real. I get it. But I also think calling it a disease is a slap in the face to anyone who has a real disease. Alcoholism as a disease just seems like a way to make people have a crutch for their problems.
I’ve been watching Flaked a lot lately so I’ve been thinking about it. Alex Baldwin talked about it on Stern this week too. He hasn’t had anything in 33 years and doesn’t crave it at all. Yet people still consider him to have the disease because he made bad decisions and spiraled out of control in his 20s.
I’ve been watching Flaked a lot lately so I’ve been thinking about it. Alex Baldwin talked about it on Stern this week too. He hasn’t had anything in 33 years and doesn’t crave it at all. Yet people still consider him to have the disease because he made bad decisions and spiraled out of control in his 20s.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:42 am to Clark W Griswold
Insurance companies wanted in on it.
Hence, the disease myth.
Hence, the disease myth.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:42 am to Ripley
quote:
And people make the same argument about depression like "YOU are in control of your own happiness". Sorry, it doesn't work that way when you have a legit chemical imbalance like depression (or addiction).
Agree in part and disagree in part.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:47 am to Festus
I've never considered myself, as an an alcoholic, a victim of anything. It's my decision to do what I do and not a situation or person has caused me to drink the way I do
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:48 am to whoisnickdoobs
quote:
Disease has a very vague definition. There's lots of things that can be considered a disease. It just doesn't seem fitting to put it in the same category as cancer or aids.
Telling addicts they have a disease isn't going to help them quit. They're already weak minded to begin with. Giving them excuses to continue hurting themselves isn't helping cure their "disease".
I think addiction is probably better described as a behavior disorder or mental illness. Are behavior disorders and mental illnesses considered diseases? I don’t know but yeah it is counterintuitive to put addiction in the same category as leukemia.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:51 am to Clark W Griswold
quote:
I’ve had friends in rehab and none of them referred to their addiction to drugs as a disease. Not one. But anytime someone drinks too much they have a disease. Addiction is real. I get it. But I also think calling it a disease is a slap in the face to anyone who has a real disease. Alcoholism as a disease just seems like a way to make people have a crutch for their problems.
Similar to depression, it does take some ownership of the problem in order to get better.
But also important to know and understand that it's not all on the person at that time.
Like I said, I get people not having sympathy because it is a disease that manifests because the person is complicit to some degree.
This post was edited on 6/15/18 at 9:53 am
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:54 am to Clark W Griswold
calling it a disease takes personal responsibility out of the equation.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:56 am to Ripley
quote:
I feel like you don't want to call it a disease simply because you don't have sympathy for alcoholics -
No, I don't consider it a disease for reasons already stated. You don't become addicted to drugs and alcohol if you don't use it----- or abuse it in the case of alcohol.
My stepson is an addict. He got hooked up with people that just loved the needle and got into heroin. He overdosed one night while he was here in my house visiting and if the wife and I had gone out of town for 3 days like we had planned, we'd have come home to a bloated corpse. He spent the better part of 2 weeks in the hospital with massive organ failure issues before being released. I won't lie, I was pissed that he put his mother through that. He recovered here for 2 more weeks and I told him to find somewhere else to ruin his life. He moved out of state and has been clean for 2 years now, but all it will take is one hit with that needle and it can all be for naught.
I understand the addiction principle, but I can't call it a disease.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:56 am to biglego
Addiction is a condition. Being addicted to some things might be a mental illness. Being addicted to different things has different variables of that condition. I’m addicted to caffeine. If I don’t get a little by noon I get headaches that Advil can’t fix. I don’t have a disease. My girlfriend in college was addicted to heroin. She couldn’t stop even after rehab. It took years to beat it. It’s a very addictive substance that grabs hold of you. Alcohol is a more common substance that people turn to for fun, to forget, to relax, to release, whatever it may be. Not being able to understand or control moderation leads to “addiction”. But it’s a choice. You didn’t go to a doctor and get diagnosed and all of a sudden hit the bottle all day. You made a choice and then kept choosing that again and again. At some point it affected your life in a way that wasn’t favorable. But you never had a disease. You had a bad decision spiral out of control.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 9:57 am to celltech1981
quote:
calling it a disease takes personal responsibility out of the equatio
Thank you. That's my point, exactly.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:03 am to Ace Midnight
quote:
Addiction is a disease
So you believe ANY and ALL addictions are a disease? Just wanting to clarify.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:03 am to Clark W Griswold
Is obesity a disease?
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:04 am to Clark W Griswold
Every morning I wish I didn't drink. But then every day around beer thirty, that wish is a gone pecone.
Honestly I wish I could just stop and never want to drink again. I have no idea how to do that. If any of you know how to, please let me know.
I've read about transcendental meditation, hypnotism, tried supplements... Nothing works. I mean, I can function just fine but I feel like I'm fricking myself up down the road.
Honestly I wish I could just stop and never want to drink again. I have no idea how to do that. If any of you know how to, please let me know.
I've read about transcendental meditation, hypnotism, tried supplements... Nothing works. I mean, I can function just fine but I feel like I'm fricking myself up down the road.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:04 am to Clark W Griswold
quote:
But when people get addicted to meth or heroin nobody refers to it as a disease.
What rock do you live under?
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:06 am to Pecker
quote:
Because any habits that are difficult to break are now referred to as diseases. We do this to make people feel better about themselves, which actually hinders them in breaking the habit.
Okay. If you say so.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:06 am to tigerdude3232
My desire to drink is not something I can control. Whether or not I take a drink is completely within my control.
Posted on 6/15/18 at 10:06 am to Bama and Beer
quote:
I've never considered myself, as an an alcoholic, a victim of anything.
quote:
It's my decision to do what I do and not a situation or person has caused me to drink the way I do
I respect you for that.
And that doesn't sound like any disease. Sounds like a decision you make every day.
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