Drug/Alcohol Addiction a Disease or a Choice?

[Bottesini]

Well, I have heard people use that excuse. I also know people who do NOT blame other people for their addictions.


My dad was an alcoholic and I never heard him blame anyone else for his drinking.


Your niece didn't have a drinking problem until she picked up her first alcoholic drink and ingested it, did she?

Anyone can become an alcoholic with or without a family history of drinking problems. There are people from alcoholic families who don't become drinkers, and there are people from families with no alcohol history who do become drinkers. It's not the genes they have in common; it's the action of drinking alcohol.


That shows that you made a conscious decision--a choice.


Maybe, maybe not. It probably depends on the policy and the program.


My dad didn't blame his drinking on other people, and my nephew doesn't blame his drug use on other people. Why? Because they see/saw nothing wrong with what they're doing, so they there is not blame factor. There are addicted people who don't see anything wrong with their choices or lifestyles. They have no motivation to change their ways.

People who have the gene for alcoholism have a good chance of becoming alcoholic if they take that first drink. People without can drink socially and have little risk.

If people are educated that it is a disease and that they are prone to it, they are much less likely to start.

 

[Reba]

People who have the gene for alcoholism have a good chance of becoming alcoholic if they take that first drink. People without can drink socially and have little risk.

If people are educated that it is a disease and that they are prone to it, they are much less likely to start.

Is there statistical proof for that (in bold) statement?

Being educated about the dangers of tobacco, texting and driving, and unhealthy food choices don't seem to make much of a dent in bad choices. Is drinking any different?

What about the people whose family histories indicate that they are NOT prone to addiction so they think they are "safe?" They become addicts, too.

 

[Bottesini]

Is there statistical proof for that (in bold) statement?

Being educated about the dangers of tobacco, texting and driving, and unhealthy food choices don't seem to make much of a dent in bad choices. Is drinking any different?

What about the people whose family histories indicate that they are NOT prone to addiction so they think they are "safe?" They become addicts, too.

There are quite a few statistics to back up the genetic component.

As for whether education helps, it certainly is logical.
Genetics of Alcohol Use Disorders | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

How do genes influence alcoholism?

Alcoholism often seems to run in families, and we may hear about scientific studies of an “alcoholism gene.” Genetics certainly influence our likelihood of developing alcoholism, but the story isn’t so simple.

Research shows that genes are responsible for about half of the risk for alcoholism. Therefore, genes alone do not determine whether someone will become an alcoholic. Environmental factors, as well as gene and environment interactions account for the remainder of the risk.*

Multiple genes play a role in a person’s risk for developing alcoholism. There are genes that increase a person’s risk, as well as those that may decrease that risk, directly or indirectly. For instance, some people of Asian descent carry a gene variant that alters their rate of alcohol metabolism, causing them to have symptoms like flushing, nausea, and rapid heartbeat when they drink. Many people who experience these effects avoid alcohol, which helps protect them from developing alcoholism.**

As we have learned more about the role genes play in our health, researchers have discovered that different factors can alter the expression of our genes. This field is called epigenetics. Scientists are learning more and more about how epigenetics can affect our risk for developing alcoholism.

 

[Reba]

There are quite a few statistics to back up the genetic component.

Even they say, "genes alone do not determine whether someone will become an alcoholic."

Again, what about the people with no family history of alcoholism who become alcoholics?

Genes do not make alcoholics. People drinking alcohol make alcoholics.

As for whether education helps, it certainly is logical.
Genetics of Alcohol Use Disorders | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Logical, yes. Realistic, no. Not all human decisions are based on logic. I think that is evident.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Well, I have heard people use that excuse. I also know people who do NOT blame other people for their addictions.


My dad was an alcoholic and I never heard him blame anyone else for his drinking.


Your niece didn't have a drinking problem until she picked up her first alcoholic drink and ingested it, did she?

Anyone can become an alcoholic with or without a family history of drinking problems. There are people from alcoholic families who don't become drinkers, and there are people from families with no alcohol history who do become drinkers. It's not the genes they have in common; it's the action of drinking alcohol.


That shows that you made a conscious decision--a choice.


Maybe, maybe not. It probably depends on the policy and the program.


My dad didn't blame his drinking on other people, and my nephew doesn't blame his drug use on other people. Why? Because they see/saw nothing wrong with what they're doing, so they there is not blame factor. There are addicted people who don't see anything wrong with their choices or lifestyles. They have no motivation to change their ways.

The genes are there and some people do not know they can get a drinking problem when they pick up their 'first' drink . My dad did not think he was going anything wrong when he got drunk . He just wanted to made us feel that we did something wrong. No two people get drunk the same way.
I find they have their own 'game plan ' . My ex husband would prime himself by buying non alcohol beer and after drinking a case of that he want to drink the real stuff. My ex was pissed off at someone or pissed off getting a speeding ticket and that would be a good enough reason to get drunk.
I got sick of that crap and that is why he my EX. You're telling me nothing new about why people drink. My dad was a drunk , I had g/f that got drunk and one was no longer drinking but she still acted like an abusive drunk
so I stop talking to her. I did not need that crap in my life anymore.
My older sister and I dated guys that where drunks b/c that was what we use to . But as we got older we realize is not something we want to live with anymore. I am very aware of how alcoholics affect people around them.
My niece did have a drinking problem 'before she picked up her first drink ,
she has the genes that make it hard stop drinking . BUT my niece
DOES NOT use the 'genes' as an excuse to drink. We are not going to agree on this and that is fine with me. I guess we can both be happy that we're not drunks , I could had been one very easy which why I chose not to drink.

 

[rockin'robin]

My grandmother was an alcoholic (moon shine). So was my father, my oldest brother and 2 sisters.....One of my sisters has never drank or did drugs in her life....

I drank socially, on weekends with friends, even drank to the excess of getting drunk, every weekend. One weekend, I bought a gallon of wine and started drinking it on a Saturday afternoon after dinner (I lived alone). I woke up early Sunday morning, on the floor, doors left unlocked, lights still on....biggest headache I ever had! Going into the Kitchen for coffee and aspirin, I saw the gallon of wine on the counter, completely empty....it shocked me!...Could not believe I drank the whole bottle....

It automatically hit me!....I was becoming an alcoholic and from that day forward, I did not drink at all. Remembering my father, and the way he was 100% of the time, drunk!...Had a stroke and died of liver disease. My brother lost his wife due to alcohol...2 sisters drank daily, drunk all the time.

It was many years afterwards before I trusted myself to have a glass of Wine. And my mind-set knows that 1 glass is enough. I know that it would be so easy to become a full-blown alcoholic! It's genetic......

I've been "excluded" from many get-togethers and parties, simply because I don't drink.....It made me feel bad for awhile. But after observing so many people falling down drunk, fighting, getting sick, etc., etc., I know I made the right choices.

 

[rockin'robin]

 

[rockin'robin]

Parent's Drug-Addicted Children....

You look at them and shake your head,
Your heart filled with disgust.
If only they had better parents,
This world is so unjust.

You think it can never happen to you,
And you're quick enough to judge,
You think that you are better then them,
You go around holding a grudge.

You say don't enable,
Just kick them out,
They aren't any good anyways,
Until it's your Mother , daughter ,or wife
Then to the other side you'll sway.

Cause their not worthless,
They have people who care ,
They just got lost,
And their fighting for air.

So next time that you judge them,
Better put yourself in place,
Cause addiction doesn't care about
Your age, your sex, your race.

 

[caz12]

i brought up by my nan who drunk most of the time it not easy live with drunk...
i take very strong painkillers sometimes i forget my scrip i go cold turky feel awful friend of mine takes same thing and it do nothing to her when she stops so must be something in some people,nicotine i unable to kik habbit others have no problems....just grateful booze makes me ill
it hard to judge people but then people have free will and know feeding habbit with crime is wrong thatis something they can do something about

 

[rockin'robin]

 

[rockin'robin]

 

[caz12]

gambler close second husband use be one

 

[saywhatkid]

All I will say is this; it starts as a choice. If you are genetically predisposed, it eventually becomes a need. The choosing part becomes bypassed by chemical changes in the body of the user that make the ingestion a requirement. Seen it first-hand. Ingesting a substance that is slowly taking your life, and having few or no reservations about that, makes me consider it a medical condition that needs treatment.

Other situations, such as sexual addiction or gambling addiction are a bit tougher for me to consider a full-blown disease.

 

[Reba]

. . . I guess we can both me happy that we're not drunks....

Yes, I agree.

 

[horus11B]

Ok, so I think the thing thats being overlooked here is the difference between an alcoholic and a drunk.

A drunk is a person who choses alcohol over everything else.

An alcoholic is a person who, due to chemical inconsistencies in the brain, cannot function or make proper decisions anymore after the first drink has been had.

Ergo, All alcoholics are drunks, but not all drunks are alcoholics.

There are only two drugs known to man in which the withdrawal symptoms can actually kill you. One is alcohol, the other is Barbiturates. When an alcoholic starts needing a drink, the brain starts firing off signals that are actually telling the person that they are going to die if they don't have another drink, and (provided theyve stayed wet long enough) they actually might.

I stopped drinking and using methamphetamine in 2010 after 4 and a half years of heavy daily drinking and roughly an 8-ball a week. When I did I woke up in the hospital and was promptly informed that I had had two seizures and that I was lucky that my friends had gotten me into a hospital.

An addictive brain ( for lack of a better term) causes a person , when confronted with their substance of choice, to no longer be able to make rational decisions. We as a society take this into account, however, a person who has broken the law while under the influence cannot use addiction as an adequate defense. At best they can hope for an addiction support and recovery program to supplement their jail time.

Can addiction be classified as a disease, yes. Are all cases of substance abuse true addiction, no. Do people use any means nessicary to try and get out of claiming responsibility for their own actions, yes. That is the society we have allowed to prosper by giving everyone a trophy and breeding generational welfare families that have no desire and no incentive to take care of themselves.

Society as a whole needs to get back to the days when personal accountability was foremost in everything we did. We were expected to be good people, good stewards, and financially intellegent. You were expected to treat other people with respect and dignity, as well as yourself. Just because someone says "i have a reason for what I did, i have a disease" , it doesnt matter, you still ****ed up. Now live with your choices.

I am very lucky in that I am not dead, nor has my family abandoned me.

Do I feel sympathy for those who made poor decisions based upon a predeliction towards unheathy choices? Yes.

Is their disease an excuse to get out of accountability for their actions? For gods sake NO.

 

[horus11B]

I will say this, for the people who are screaming that its a voluntary choice to take the first drink or do the first bump or smoke the first joint.

You've obviously never stared at a bottle of tequila for 8 hours while praying.

You don't get it, you never will.

 

[Reba]

I will say this, for the people who are screaming that its a voluntary choice to take the first drink or do the first bump or smoke the first joint.

You've obviously never stared at a bottle of tequila for 8 hours while praying.

You don't get it, you never will.

I haven't noticed anyone from any side of the debate screaming anything. The discussion has been civil.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Yes, I agree.

I should had 'be' not 'me'. OOPS!

 

[horus11B]

I haven't noticed anyone from any side of the debate screaming anything. The discussion has been civil.

Apologies, where I come from this particular turn of phrase is used when someone is adamantly stating something. No one can scream on the internet. And actually, half the people here wouldn't hear it if they did...

Ok, that one was in poor taste... my bad.

 

[Reba]

I should had 'be' not 'me'. OOPS!

I understood.