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Anything Used Consistently That is Bad or Lethal, Can Be Considered an Addiction

by Robin
(Bianchi)

Anything used consistently that is bad or lethal, can be considered an addiction. How do I know this? Because I am a heavy smoker and have done serious damage to my lungs, and continue to do so.

Do I feel powerless? Debatable. I quit once for 3 months, and when I started again, it was like I'd never stopped. The craving was and is almost insatiable. However, I don't feel that it is a disease. My brother who is an alcoholic and a member of "THE PROGRAM" says that science has discovered an addictive gene that can be passed down. Is that true? I don't know.

Even if this is true, it would not mean that a person would be prone to alcohol, but they would just have a predisposed disposition towards any kind of addiction. Yes, I said addiction, as that is what I believe it to be. A behavioural disorder if you will, that probably more people than not possess.

If there truly is some proof of an addictive gene, it does not give anyone the right to use that as an excuse, which I believe my brother does. I am slowly killing myself by smoking, but I do not deny that, and I also know that if I truly wanted to stop that I would. Not could, but would.

I do believe we have control, but some people just want to hide behind AA in order to be allowed the right to "fall off the wagon" again, as that is what AA preaches.

I believe that alcoholism was lumped into the "Disease" category years ago, back in the good old days when the world was run by the good old boys to create a fail safe method for many wealthy Judges, Lawyers, Police Captains, etc...in order to keep them safe from losing their jobs. After all, you can't be fired for having a disease, can you?

Robin

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AA is a temporary fix, but convenient for many abusers
by: Robin

Dear Anonymous, thank you for your input to my opinion of substance abuse, be it alcohol, or drugs. Having been raised by 2 alcoholics, having a sibling that is an alcoholic/drug abuser and having been married to an alcoholic, now deceased, I know it is not a disease. My husband died of cancer, years after he had quit drinking, yet when he got Cancer, he could not, as much as he tried and wanted to, survive it, as it was too far gone when discovered. Having quit alcohol and being successful at it, I know that he had the mental and physical capacity to quit anything he put his mind to that was quit-able (new word, made up), however, as hard as he tried to quit Cancer, he was unsuccessful and lost that battle. I also lost a life long friend a year ago to alcohol. She had been in the program and clean for over 10 years, but then she fell off the wagon. Do I think she wanted to live??? No, I do not. I think when someone feels powerless because a progam tells them they are, then it can backfire in a person's face as well, always feeling that they are powerless, because that is what they've been told. I think giving up power for some people is just unbearable. They never feel like they've been fixed, just readjusted on some temporary basis, and therefore they never truly feel whole again, and some people like my friend, I believe did want to feel whole again. I know that for some people it becomes an excuse. It is easy to say it is out of their hands, because it is also an excuse to fall off the wagon and use again, which feels good to them. It is a vicious cycle that allows many substance abusers to feel the right to keep using, but for others is almost if not a death sentence. I've known people who become so involved with "THE PROGRAM i.e. AA", that they become addicted to the program, and I've also known some people who use the program incorrectly, as a fail safe, in order to occassionally fall from grace so to speak. These are just my feelings.

My take on the AA Program: If a person gets a bad cough, they go to a doctor. If the doctor just keeps giving the patient a cough syrup to alleviate the cough, then it won't go away. What a good doctor does, is take blood work to see if they can determine the cause of cough and treat the cause, thus illeminating the cough and sickness altogether. That is why AA fails, they only treat the symptom which is the abuse, and not the cause for the abuse, which has to be something way more psychological, and should be examined. Treat the patient for the psychopathy, and the abuse should end, no?

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Well Put
by: Anonymous

Well argued perspective. Alcoholism or an addiction to drugs is not the same as genuine diseases like cancer etc. There is an element of control and choice when it comes to addictions that simply aren't there when it comes to things like cancer. Alcoholics and drug addicts need to take responsibility for their problem, get professional help and find a program to help them stay sober. You can't take responsibility for your cancer in the same way - you can do all the right things and still end up not making it. So addictions to alcohol, drugs or whatever simply aren't true diseases.

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