Do You Believe Alcoholism or Addiction Is a Disease?
Question by Lucy: Do you believe alcoholism or addiction is a disease?
Also, do you think you are more likely to become an addict if your biological parents are? Even in a situation where you didn’t live with and/or don’t know your biological parents?
My personal opinion is that it is not a disease. The first sip is a choice. The addiction doesn’t start until that sip. I have RSD, and I sure as hell didn’t do anything to start it. On that account though, I may be a little biased.
The studies that I have seen define Alcoholism as ‘becoming a disease’, and use a phrase ‘pre-disease’ whilst everything I’ve seen and heard of NA states that their addiction started with that first drink. I also don’t think that these studies have some how made it medical fact. Therefor, people can still have opinions on it. There are also some rather good criticisms supporting the idea that it is not a disease.
I think that alcohol is only half of it. Studies have shown that people who think that they are abusing alcohol act just as aggressively and crave it as much as people who actually do. It seems to me that these people do have a psychological problem, but that alcoholism is only a stressor on that.
What I was saying with that first sip bit, is that studies showing alcoholism as a disease do not seem to think that the disease starts there. Any recovering addict working through twelve will tell you that their addiction started as soon as they took the first drink.
Best answer:
Answer by Beatles Forever
Its not an opinion, it is a disease. Also some people are more prone to form addictive habits then others, so it may be genetic.
Answer by mikee
It is a disease and it is a proven fact that there is a genetic connection.
There are many that can “sip” all their lives, with no adverse affects, then there are those that the first sip is the start of a chain reaction that manifests its self over a period of time. An alcoholics brain is “wired” differently. Forensic autopsies have proven this conclusively.
Sure it’s a “choice” to take the “first sip”.
So are you advocating that alcohol should be banned?
How about sugar and diabetes, peanuts and allergies, dairy products and lactose intolerance, etc…
They are all diseases as well.
As long as alcohol use is accepted by society, there will be alcoholics. It is an unfortunate fact for a great number of people.
Add:
There is a difference between addiction and dependence. Quite true that there are like behaviors among the two. The abuser needs it to stave off the physical pain of withdrawl, whereas the addict / alcoholic has both an inherent physical need, as does the abuser, but also an added need to have it to mentally function. That is where the different brain wiring comes in. The “first sip” scenario sets the alcoholic brain into gear, wherein they crave more and more until it becomes a combination of addiction and dependence. A non-alcoholic is able to stop and walk away from it, barring any physical dependence, and not have it constantly in their thoughts.
Interesting discussion.