Is ADDICTION a Disease or a Choice?

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ADDICTION is a Disease

ADDICTION IS NOT A CHOICE

Addicts are not responsible for their addiction, but they are responsible for their recovery. This is a sentiment central to support groups like Narcotics Anonymous.

Most people who use drugs and alcohol don’t become addicted. Millions of people experiment with alcohol and illicit drugs every year however most never become addicted. Nobody becomes an addict by choice. It happens without warning.

DENIAL

Addiction has many tools it uses to keep its victims sick. One of them is denial, a form of delusion that prevents a person from accepting the reality of a situation. If you know what to look for, its easy to spot. Here are some common examples:
  • Blame-shifting: It’s everyone else’s fault but mine I use.
  • Justification: My drug of choice helps with my ________.
  • Rationalization: Hey, at least it’s not _________
  • Minimization: I only used/drank (insert measurement).
  • Equivocation: My drug is the same as _______________.
The problem with denial is not that addicts use it to justify their use to other people. The problem is that they use denial to justify it to themselves.

Many if not most addicts are unaware of the progression of the disease until it is too late. Often, it takes a jarring event like an arrest or a job loss before they realize how bad their situation has become.  Regardless, nobody makes the choice to become an addict. And nobody uses alcohol or drugs with the intention of causing harm to themselves, their friends, or their families.

ADDICTION IS A DISEASEWhat most people don’t understand is that addiction has little to do with drug or alcohol use. The Basic Text of Narcotics Anonymous addresses this point in the chapter titled “Am I an Addict?”:
“Addiction is a disease that involves more than the use of drugs.  Some of us believe that our disease was present long before the first time we used.”
 
This point is not without controversy. Try telling a heroin addict on their third day of withdrawal that drug use is a small part of addiction. It won’t go over well. Addiction is far more complicated than we’d like to believe. And recovery from drug addiction requires far more than just the absence of using.
  
Drug and alcohol use are symptoms of a much larger problem. In fact, exploring that problem is a fundamental component of long-term recovery. Exactly what that problem is though depends on the individual.
MENTAL HEALTH
According to The National Institute on Mental Health, 45% of people with a substance use disorder have a co-occurring mental illness. That means that possibly addicts are suffering from a debilitating condition such as clinical depression, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder, or a genetic deficiency of dopamine or serotonin.
 
Most people will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid pain, be it emotional, physical, or psychological. For some, the pain leads them to drugs and alcohol. 
 
Psychological pain is the worst of the three. Depression, trauma, and loneliness drive many to suicide. And the thing about drugs and alcohol is that they do a marvelous job of numbing that pain. For a while, at least.
 

RECOVERY

Recovery from drug and alcohol addiction is not just a simple matter of not using. We learn in recovery that every aspect of our life is fair game, from the friends we keep to the values we hold dear.
 
It is a harrowing process, too, because the reason we self-medicated in the first place is still there, waiting to sink its teeth into us. And in recovery, we must face it, and without the use of drugs. A terrifying realization for many.
 
If you love an addict, they need both your empathy and respect. Recovery from drug addiction is the hardest thing a person will ever do. If you want to help an addict, help them understand why they started using. There is ALWAYS a reason.

Treatment & Support options

ALPHA offers a Free Assessment to determine which treatment option is best suited for you. We assess your unique situation to point you to the most effective solutions for your specific needs.

It’s time for you to Live your Best Life. With our help, you can kick the habit!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR PROGRAM

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