Why does society differentiate alcoholics from addicts when they both have the disease of addiction
My father is a recovered alcoholic and he received more harsh judgment than drug addicts I've known and I honestly believe it's because most people drink alcohol. I think because other people can drink and put the bottle away, they expect everyone else to be able to do the same whereas they don't take drugs and therefore don't have an opinion as such on how easy (or at least how easy they think) it is to give up.
Historically it's been because one drug (alcohol) is legal and most other drugs used for recreational purposes are illegal.
However it took a long while before alcohol addiction got respect.
There are also those who scoff at the idea of attaching addict and disease to everything. Some people for example hate the term "sex addict". They refuse to acknowledge it's even possible to be one.
Imagine a wife busts her husband having several affairs or seeing prostitutes and strippers behind her back. He along with his doctor inform her that he is a "sex addict". She believes it's an "excuse"!
Odds are more wives will support their alcoholic husband by going to meetings and learning about that disease than there are wives who would empathize with husbands who have a sex addiction disease. There's no "empathy" for coping with certain addictions.
Addiction is an impulse to pursue having something regardless of the personal cost. Today "hoarders" are considered addicts, gamblers, high levels of sexual promiscuity, and some people are diagnosed as "food addicts". Take away whatever the addict enjoys or "needs" without help and you'll see them go to great lengths to get their fix.
by cabalacus 15 years ago
The amount of resources put into alcohol and drug abuse is scandalous and placing great strains on our economy.The vast majority of these people contribute absolutely nothing to society and have claimed state benefits all there life.Drug users are happy to go to jail as there is usually a plentiful...
by cosette 15 years ago
hello.my name is <removed at user's request> and i am the child of an addict. specifically, an alcohol abuser. perhaps you have read my hub about it. if not, do take time and check it out. it is interesting because it allows people to see the other side of addiction - the steep price addicts'...
by Michael Ward 11 years ago
Why do so many people want to blame drug dealers and not drug addicts?I ask this question because of something I saw yesterday. I saw a police officer taking away a 6 year old child for dealing drugs (obviously not a prison...6 year old kid after all). And I thought to myself, his circumstances put...
by Denise 7 years ago
I listened to a piece on Philadelphia proposing a safe injection site where heroin users can bring their own drugs, have them tested for safety,at no cost, get a free clean needle, have a nurse monitor their vitals during and after the injection; all without the fear of arrest for their behavior,...
by Stacie L 14 years ago
LONDON — Hospital authorities say they have treated a 3-year-old child for alcoholism.Child had been given alcohol regularly, officials say http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42093182/ns … ?GT1=43001my grandparents would give us kids tastes of different liquors when we were younger...we never had...
by lyricsingray 14 years ago
We all share a common element or trait.The disease of addiction and alcoholism.This thread is for Ramblings in Recovery. Recovery related or not each post shares that common element and understood disease, especially this time of year.Recovery is fun, if not, I'm out a here I'm sure you'll...
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