Addiction: disease or choice?

Jessica4Bama · Apr 22, 2015

So I have a close family member that had to go into rehab last week for alcohol abuse. Anyway, they have the family members come in for counseling, and they teach that addiction is a disease. My mother believes it is because of what they told her in counseling and the books and stories the folks told in the meetings. Regardless, I hope this family member gets their life back on track. In my research I've found many articles against labeling addiction a disease, but who knows.

I know I've read about some on here that have had problems with alcohol so I'm just curious what the consensus is about it. Might make for a lively discussion.

NationalTitles18 · Apr 22, 2015

Addiction: disease or choice?

Yes

seebell · Apr 22, 2015

I was an alcoholic. Drunk every day for 15 years. Seems like there is a gene that predisposes a person to alcoholism. I think the disease model works best.
I thank my university days for my alcohol abuse. Never touched a drop till then. I made a choice of some kind to start but I couldn't seem to make the choice to stop.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...W55HeQ8qRTgUvzdtJZLsLkqqHzn5-Pq5wS51JLT4xfZwA

Why do some people become addicted to alcohol and drugs and others do not?
Whether a person decides to use alcohol or drugs is a choice, influenced by their environment--peers, family, and availability. But, once a person uses alcohol or drugs, the risk of developing alcoholism or drug dependence is largely influenced by genetics. Alcoholism and drug dependence are not moral issues, are not a matter of choice or a lack of willpower. Plain and simple, some people’s bodies respond to the effects of alcohol and drugs differently.

FACT: The single most reliable indicator of risk for future alcohol and drug problems is FAMILY HISTORY.

Research has shown conclusively that family history of alcoholism or drug addiction is in part genetic and not just the result of the family environment. And, millions of Americans are living proof, based on personal, firsthand experience, that alcoholism and drug addiction run in families.
Plain and simple, alcoholism and drug dependence run in families.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20040526/researchers-identify-alcoholism-gene

May 26, 2004 -- A new study links a gene to alcohol addiction -- backing up a long-recognized pattern showing that alcoholism runs in families.

The finding also provides evidence that an inborn high level of anxietyis part of this picture. The study appears in this week's issue of theJournal of Neuroscience.

Research has shown that alcohol addiction is a complex disease, with both genetics and a tendency toward anxiety playing "crucial roles," writes researcher Subhash C. Pandey, PhD, a psychiatrist with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/alcohol-addiction/disease-theory-alcoholism/

Alcoholism as a Disease

Toward the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, addicts were often viewed as morally wrong and even shunned as being bad people or sinners. This type of thinking led many physicians of the time to fight to change common perceptions and try to help addicts instead of punish them. The formation of AA – Alcoholics Anonymous – in the 1930s and the publication of noted psychiatrist and Director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Yale Medical School E. M. Jellinek’s famous book defining the concept of alcoholism as a medical disease facilitated moving alcoholism into a different light.

I am recognized here on TS as gigantically intelligent!! Imagine if I hadn't killed all those brain cells!:biggrin:

selmaborntidefan · Apr 22, 2015

I can't say that I'm sure, and I don't know that it matters. It's a bear to overcome, I know that. And so many lose. I've become more empathetic as I've aged and watched. The initial choice is a choice but nobody knows the response. Besides - you CAN be addicted to sex (with midget trannies for that matter), food, and other things.

However.....nobody feels sorry for a "food addict," they're just fatsos, you know? (My only point is that we're selective about what we want to see as problematic). And surely nobody feels sorry for a sex addict. Maybe......

BamaPokerplayer · Apr 22, 2015

I'm going with disease.

selmaborntidefan · Apr 22, 2015

seebell said:
I was an alcoholic. Drunk every day for 15 years. Seems like there is a gene that predisposes a person to alcoholism. I think the disease model works best.
I thank my university days for my alcohol abuse. Never touched a drop till then. I made a choice of some kind to start but I couldn't seem to make the choice to stop.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...W55HeQ8qRTgUvzdtJZLsLkqqHzn5-Pq5wS51JLT4xfZwA

Why do some people become addicted to alcohol and drugs and others do not?
Whether a person decides to use alcohol or drugs is a choice, influenced by their environment--peers, family, and availability. But, once a person uses alcohol or drugs, the risk of developing alcoholism or drug dependence is largely influenced by genetics. Alcoholism and drug dependence are not moral issues, are not a matter of choice or a lack of willpower. Plain and simple, some people’s bodies respond to the effects of alcohol and drugs differently.

FACT: The single most reliable indicator of risk for future alcohol and drug problems is FAMILY HISTORY.

Research has shown conclusively that family history of alcoholism or drug addiction is in part genetic and not just the result of the family environment. And, millions of Americans are living proof, based on personal, firsthand experience, that alcoholism and drug addiction run in families.
Plain and simple, alcoholism and drug dependence run in families.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20040526/researchers-identify-alcoholism-gene

May 26, 2004 -- A new study links a gene to alcohol addiction -- backing up a long-recognized pattern showing that alcoholism runs in families.
The finding also provides evidence that an inborn high level of anxietyis part of this picture. The study appears in this week's issue of theJournal of Neuroscience.
Research has shown that alcohol addiction is a complex disease, with both genetics and a tendency toward anxiety playing "crucial roles," writes researcher Subhash C. Pandey, PhD, a psychiatrist with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/alcohol-addiction/disease-theory-alcoholism/

Alcoholism as a Disease
Toward the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, addicts were often viewed as morally wrong and even shunned as being bad people or sinners. This type of thinking led many physicians of the time to fight to change common perceptions and try to help addicts instead of punish them. The formation of AA – Alcoholics Anonymous – in the 1930s and the publication of noted psychiatrist and Director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Yale Medical School E. M. Jellinek’s famous book defining the concept of alcoholism as a medical disease facilitated moving alcoholism into a different light.

I am recognized here on TS as gigantically intelligent!! Imagine if I hadn't killed all those brain cells!:biggrin:

Yeah, you would have typed TF rather than TS for starters.

seebell · Apr 22, 2015

selmaborntidefan said:
Yeah, you would have typed TF rather than TS for starters.

Dat's funny!!:biggrin: Let's go have a drink!!:biggrin:

Jessica4Bama · Apr 22, 2015

Well my thinking is if every addiction is considered a disease then me really looking forward to what I'm going to eat for lunch when it is 8 in the morning and I haven't even had breakfast yet, doesn't seem like a disease to me. It is me really liking food aka addiction. Why doesn't the same simple scenario apply to mind altering substances? I don't consider what I have a disease. People wouldn't classify that as a disease.

My mind seems to think everything is black or white, good or evil. My mom thinks it isn't as simple as that, but I am young and still stupid enough so who knows.

Jessica4Bama · Apr 22, 2015

So a question in my argument on the gene thing is does it just apply to alcoholics or drug abusers? Like my coworker and his wife both smoke. That doesn't mean his daughter is predisposed to smoking, correct?

Jessica4Bama · Apr 22, 2015

http://www.baldwinresearch.com/alcoholism.cfm

Here is an article I ran across. I have no clue as to this research, but just wanted to share.

crimson fan man · Apr 22, 2015

Alcoholic is different then meth or crack I think. I believe that alcohol is a disease because you can see it run in certain families. A very good friend of mind is very addicted to alcohol. His father never drink alcohol but his uncle and grandfather were very bad alcoholics. His brother is also an alcoholic.
The proof is in the pudding. Not an expert but just how I feel.

Jessica4Bama · Apr 22, 2015

crimson fan man said:
Alcoholic is different then meth or crack I think. I believe that alcohol is a disease because you can see it run in certain families. A very good friend of mind is very addicted to alcohol. His father never drink alcohol but his uncle and grandfather were very bad alcoholics. His brother is also an alcoholic.
The proof is in the pudding. Not an expert but just how I feel.

So when does it become a choice of what you put into your body? Hope this question doesn't make you mad. I'm just trying to understand because my mother has said the same thing.

seebell · Apr 22, 2015

Jessica4Bama said:
Well my thinking is if every addiction is considered a disease then me really looking forward to what I'm going to eat for lunch when it is 8 in the morning and I haven't even had breakfast yet, doesn't seem like a disease to me. It is me really liking food aka addiction. Why doesn't the same simple scenario apply to mind altering substances? I don't consider what I have a disease. People wouldn't classify that as a disease.

My mind seems to think everything is black or white, good or evil. My mom thinks it isn't as simple as that, but I am young and still stupid enough so who knows.

You might find this interesting Jessica. http://www.tgorski.com/gorski_articles/disease_model_of_addiction_010704.htm

Addiction/disease involves or causes physical changes in the body. The disease model enables the addiction to be treated as a health-physical or mental-problem.
Things are rarely just black and white. A lot of shades of gray in between. Maybe 50 shades of gray?

DzynKingRTR · Apr 22, 2015

I was a teenage alcoholic because it was my choice. I quit and that was also my choice.

seebell · Apr 22, 2015

Jessica4Bama said:
http://www.baldwinresearch.com/alcoholism.cfm

Here is an article I ran across. I have no clue as to this research, but just wanted to share.

That is very interesting. Certainly a different concept.

Tide1986 · Apr 22, 2015

seebell said:
Dat's funny!!:biggrin: Let's go have a drink!!:biggrin:

When you want a glass of wine, just let me know.

Tide1986 · Apr 22, 2015

Maybe the following question is a thread unto itself:

Which human actions are influenced by genetics and which ones are not?

seebell · Apr 22, 2015

Tide1986 said:
When you want a glass of wine, just let me know.

Glass? Whatta ya mean glass? Lets start with a half gallon!

That is a very kind offer '86. My problem was that one was never enough.:eek2:

Tide1986 · Apr 22, 2015

seebell said:
Glass? Whatta ya mean glass? Lets start with a half gallon!

That is a very kind offer '86. My problem was that one was never enough.:eek2:

Oenophiles don't deal in gallons.

And...I can limit us to a bottle, which is 2-3 glasses each.

Gr8hope · Apr 22, 2015

There are good points that can be made for both opinions. I agree some are more drawn to substances than others but it must be a choice or no one could make the choice to stop. No one is cured from a disease by simply choosing to be without action. No one makes the decision to become an addict or alcoholic, they believe they can control their urges. How do some people avoid it while others do not? Good question.

Addiction: disease or choice?

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