18 Jan 2018 Are Addictions A Disease?

Are Addictions Just Choices or a Disease?

I have had a long-standing opinion that conditions like obesity, drugs and alcohol are not diseases but choices.  How do I feel that way knowing that no one would want to be controlled by anything like that?

It is due to the fact that the individual has to do a physical act in order to create that condition. Someone doesn’t just get to 400 pounds by thinking about it. Every pound put on was brought about by a conscious decision to pick up some food and put it in their mouth. Not one calorie was forced on them. The type of food that was consumed was also a choice. The same holds true for alcohol and drugs. The person made a decision each and every time to consume something that could lead to negative consequences.

This is not a disease. This is a choice. Accepting personal responsibility is the first step. You can make all kinds of excuses, but bottom line is you have to acknowledge that you started and continued to intake stuff.

I admit the conditions are addictions because the person continues to choose to do it over and over.  When someone says, “I can’t control it” it means they want to take personal responsibility out of the cause and thus relieve them of any fault.

Should there be counseling and other services to help, absolutely!  Everyone can use you support to meet a goal. However, the counseling should not absolve the individual of how they got to where they are or if they continue to follow that direction.

The support should help them make better choices and force upon them that ultimately it will be their choice if they want to change.

I don’t want to stigmatize or shame anyone who is addicted. I want people to live a healthy life. But I also don’t want to provide a label of disease on a condition that was self-induced. Have empathy and compassion but make clear it was and is a choice.