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Avatar universal

Food for thought

I do not want to spark controversy but i do think this is worth a thought....

  "We do not believe that drug and alcohol dependency is a disease. Instead, we believe it is the result of one or more of the following four causes:

Chemical imbalance
Unresolved events from the past
Beliefs you hold that are inconsistent with what is true
Inability to cope with current conditions
Anyone who is abusing drugs and alcohol is doing so because of one or more of these four causes. Through extensive research and direct experience, we have learned that addiction is not the primary problem but rather the symptom of a deeper underlying issue."    

HMMMM, something to think about?

In my opinion  addiction is viewed as an incurable disease accompanied by hopelessness, stigma, and shame.  Is there a cure?  I want to believe that there is.  Is it a disease?  
Best Answer
4522800 tn?1470325834
Dane this is a good post and it has many views here from each and all of our issues and experiences. When I go to AA and talk about the Drinking days then this has many reason why I drank..Sometimes it was just fun to party and everybody was partying too! There were times I was lonely, board, wanted to find a BF or like Halloween Parties, Birthday, BBQ etc,etc. It just seem to be fun...I was used to getting buzzed from Booze with all kinds of people at different ages. Sometimes we would all meet at the Bars or go out of town and stay at a place and have some fun..I mean from people in there 20s to 80s. There was a time when I was 17 and moved out on my own. I had finished High School on my own, but I had a fake ID and would go into the casinos and listen to music..It seemed that Music and a Drink went together..Dancing or playing Pool. Then there would be bad things like Death and so fourth, that I would drink my depression away or did not care about a thing. Then the drug I first did when I was 14..It was Bennie Whites to get me going so I could clean my parents house up. As each year came a new decade of drugs to try..I always thought it was just for the party and everybody was doing it..I got into the Crank & Booze really Bad when my lil brother died and that was a whole other ballgame of emotions. I NEVER in my Life thought anything of being a Addict until I went up from the hydo/oxys in the 90s..I was not using other then pain..Then that Wired Buzz came and it was like legal Buzz  for me to get up and going. I could always walk away from Booze or Drugs when I got tired of it or burned out.. Then when I got hooked on the opiates. I was somewhat OK at first and did not do like 100 a day..The last 12 years when I got the Methadone I was OK for a few years with it..Then when I stated to add the Adderral (I do not have ADHD) that I got off the streets, that was when I went way out of control. I always liked being wired up and getting all my work done all at the same time and have it done like Yesterday. Compulsive Behavior is what I had gotten down the line.
Put it in a Ball Park figure..each drug or drink was used for different reasons depending on what decade (Year) it was and what had happen in my Life. I never thought I was using for any down emotional reasons. In my first few Months I was over analyzing this all on "why", "what for" "age", 'friends", on & on..I was told by a Dr that the past does not matter anymore..Just stay forward and work on Recovery..There is so much to this..
Now in a scientific way..They have found out that Genes could play a big role, Environment, and so much more. They call this a Brain disease because it affects many parts of the Brain. They are now doing a study to show that people that are born with low Dopamine the D2 cell can become Addict very easy..They do know that people with serious Mental disorders become Addictive very easy. They say that when we get Pleasure out of something even gambling or shopping etc, etc, that we get these surges of Dopamine and the Midbrain (survival) Pleasure part of the brain remembers this and wants to feel this over & over if we continue to allow this Pleasure to happen over and over is where it becomes a Addiction..They say that the Survival part of the Brain is the only Brain that reptiles have or like Rats and such. This part is responsible for Eating, Drinking, Sex, all the Survival things to stay alive. Addiction does not happen over night..It takes time to build up and then that is where nothing matters in our nature of survival BUT drug and alcohol or gambling, shopping, masturbation, anything that we no longer have control over. We now seek this out for the rush of Pleasure..Now this is just all the info I have gathered..I am sure there is Positive or Negative Views about this..They are still doing a lot of studying on this..They hope that one day a person will walk into a Dr office and they will do a swap test on your saliva and find out how your Dopamine (D2 Cell) levels are. Then they will know what and what not to prescribe. I do know that Clean_in_ks got into studying this too..ActingBrandNew knows alot on this area as well..There are many more like EvolverU and Ben who have been researching this also for some time..SO I bet there is many, many, opinions on this one. This is going to be a very interesting post..                                                      
                                                                                                              
Dane have you ever looked into my Journal where I have put some of this info in..One was the "Nature of Addiction" This one talks about many reason why we might use and also how we build up a Tolerance for more. Then there is the "Addiction and the Brain's Pleasure Pathway: Beyond Willpower"..This one talks about the Dopamine and How Does the Brain Become Addicted???
Thanks and Bless!!!
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Avatar universal
Thank you all for your input and feedback.  I am just reflecting back to when i was away in rehab and they preached a "Cure", remember at that time i would believe anything and everything.  Today  i am second guessing everything in life not only addiction and just trying to find some insight.  Its a matter of opinion for sure but i must admit, i believe what vicki had to say, i tried to explain this to my hubby but he just doesn't get it.  He views me as "different" I know i  am not, i know we are all in the same yet he cant even see his wife as an "addict".  This troubles me, i am an addict i am not any different than anyone else, as we all say addiction does not discriminate and yet my hubby doesn't want to believe it..UGH its just so frustrating  that i actually used Vicki's explanation of addiction and referenced diabetics and he just is in denial about me and makes excuses as to how and why i became an addict.  It is for sure a sensitive subject, is it a choice or not, but for some that one wrong choice led us to addiction, while others  just stop and be done.  What i have learned is that WE are the STRONGEST individuals and we have allot of hurt and pain, BUT yet we will keep on fighting.....

Thank you all for all the insight and just know that i love this place, my second family, the only peeps that get me!!!!!

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Its definitely a DIS EASE if you break down the word! Nothing easy or fun about it:)
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Avatar universal
I have no shingle to hang out on this but I think it is a disease, mostly because I just want to! lol

I know I have tried many things in the past to stop drinking or taking drugs,telling myself I will never do this again, praying not to drink again today, making sure I only had enough pills to keep me out of WD. Then the next thing I know I have turned up the bottle or found out were to get more pills, patches or powder.

I have had traumatic experiences in life that I wanted to forget and hurt me. I thought at times I was using for fun. When I finally did quit it took years, first alcohol then substituting one drug for another until I saw what this disease of addiction was doing to my family and I got serious and got some accountability. The desire is still there, I just thank God I found something that work for me. I have to make a conscious effort every day, some times a few times in the day not to use.....and some times that is hard.........after several years clean and sober.

It may be there until you bring it to the surface by recreational use, or an unpleasant experience and using to forget, etc. I don't know what causes this condition to manifest itself but I call it a "Disease".
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Avatar universal
Drugs do cause chemical imbalance. Chemical imbalance due to the use of drugs and alcohol is what makes scientists label it a disease. Some have predisposition for the imbalance for various reasons, but the exposure is what triggers the imbalance to progress and progress and progress. Calling it a disease is mostly to convince scientists to get funding for studies and treatment and get insurance companies to pay for help. I prefer to define addiction as insanity, fits me best for sure.
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Avatar universal
Disease is just a broad term for so many things: illness, syndrome, sickness etc...If you have an "issue" that interferes with your life, your health, is progressive, and can end in death...you have a disease.  

Do we have a choice in our disease of addiction?  Not entirely. Sure we can not take a pill but we still have the disease because we can't change our chemical make up simply by wanting to; physically or mentally.  We can only work with what we have...

I believe in the chemical imbalance theory...completely.  I believe an addict is a sick person who needs treatment to keep the disease in check.  I compare addiction to many of the metabolic diseases which cannot be cured, like diabetes, but can be managed.

I know that treatment for addiction is not a one size fits all. I know what has worked for me but it may not work for you...and I know my limits.   Also, I think substance abuse can lead to addiction but not always. Some of us are just lucky, I guess!
Helpful - 0
2083449 tn?1381354708
Wait what? Sex is a survival thing to stay alive? We'll, crap then I'm dead for sure! (Smile)

Great post Vic! Ya know, I have never done a lot of research into this addiction thing. I just didn't care about how or why or the science behind it. I just figured, this is all on me. This is my fault for allowing it to happen. I take and accept the blame. Who cares, what may or may not be behind this?

As I get further and further out, and I read others stories, I've become curious. I would like to get more information and read others opinion and reasoning. I will check out your journal entries, and I hope that this thread catches fire and that many others will weigh in with their own personal stories and thoughts and opinions.  Thanks so much! My interest has finally been piqued!
Helpful - 0
2083449 tn?1381354708
I hate putting labels on things. Is it a disease? I don't know.... I do know this, and that is my Grandfather was an alcoholic, and I wasn't around him a lot as a kid, and I had no idea.  Addiction does run in families, I truly believe that. As for me, I know that I will have to fight this every day. Does it get easier with time? Yes it does. But it is always there in the background. I also sure hope that someday there will be a cure! I will be the first one in line! :)

Good post, Dana! Can't wait to see other opinions.
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Avatar universal
For ME (only my opinion) I believe my disease is in remission....  All of the above factors do play a role in the WHYS of addiction tho. Good question and can't wait to see the answers
Helpful - 0
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