Is addiction a disease or a choice?

1. 0

   .josh.posted 12 years ago

   Is addiction a disease or a choice?
   
   With Amy Winehouse's passing, one of the primary contentions between those who are sympathetic and those who aren't is regarding whether drug and/or alcohol addiction is a disease or a choice. According to most Government organizations, it is; however, there are also some professionals who argue it's not.
   
   What do you think?
   
   

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2. 84

   wychicposted 12 years ago

   It begins as a choice, and then morphs into a disease. These substances chemically alter someone's body after an extended period of time, and they begin to "need" it. No matter how much someone wants to stop, they are rarely -- if ever -- successful in the long-term without some kind of addiction recovery that addresses the thinking and behaviors that got them there in the first place. I have many people in my life who started out with a decision to drink or do drugs because "it was fun" or "everyone else was doing it." By the time they got into late-stage addiction, it wasn't so much a choice anymore.
   
   Having lived very close to addiction most of my life, it's very difficult to sum it up to a choice, and there is certainly more than just depression going on. I have lost members of my family to addiction before, and the signs say it's going to happen again very soon. These people didn't want to die, but they also never got to the point of accepting help.

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3. 74

   danielleantoszposted 12 years ago

   I don't know for sure, since I don't suffer from addiction. I drink a bit, and for me it is a choice. I do know that some people seem to have a lot of trouble, and I would think that it does start as a choice in the beginning but becomes less of a choice as it becomes full blown addiction.

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4. 61

   lmarsh1203posted 12 years ago

   Your choices lead you to addiction, but addictive behavior is a disease. When someone tries to break/change an addiction, they need to replace the addiction with a positive activity. If it were just a choice, it would be much easier to give up the addiction.

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   Jonesy0311posted 12 years ago

   I think most of us agree that it is a choice initially. Thereafter, the addiction alters the chemical reactions in your brain and you are at the mercy of a particular substance. This does not in any way excuse behavior exhibited by someone under the influence of addiction because ultiamtely the initial choice to go down that road was made of their own free will.

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   Marie-AnneLeClercposted 12 years ago

   It is medically argued that addiction is a 'brain-disease' in people who are genetically in  predisposition to begin with. Why some people can be 'social -drinkers' and 'recreational users' without "ever" turning to Addiction while others have no control.  Depression is a separate issue altogether... There is currently a lot of research on genetic compositions of the brain regarding mental health and/or drug & alcohol illnesses that Prove this as an illness.

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7. 61

   Dave Mathewsposted 12 years ago

   All addictions begin as a choice, but end up as a disease.  This is the truth as simple as it is for the simple minded.

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8. 58

   dysfaktoposted 12 years ago

   Disease.  The fact that people are predisposed genetically to becoming addicted to different substances is evidence.

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9. 84

   Laura Schneiderposted 12 years ago

   It's a choice to begin taking that first taste, puff, or whatever, but if the person becomes truely medically/chemically addicted then by the definition of "addiction" they cannot help themselves any more than one can generally stop themselves from sneezing or throwing up or having the hiccups. A few people can manage it, but most people most of the time cannot.
   
   From Merriam-Webster, as retrieved 3/6/12:
   "ad·dic·tion               noun \?-?dik-sh?n, a-\
   
   Definition of ADDICTION
   
   1: the quality or state of being addicted 
   
   2: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful"
   
   I'm not sure that definition is the best, but there you go. Hope this helps!

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10. 0

    Catzgendronposted 12 years ago

    No one in their right mind, chooses to be an alcholic. They don't wake up one day saying, hey lets start drinking, never put it down, lose everything in my life that matters, by choice. Alcoholism is an addiction and unless you've experienced the hold that alcohol has had on a person you will never understand. read more

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11. 60

    candicemarks987posted 11 years ago

    I think at first, addiction is a choice but as the case progresses it then become a disease that a normal person can't get over with unless he/she consult a professional. Visit this site: http://addiction-rehab-treatment.net/pr … dvantages/ to know the advantage of treatment centers.

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