Well if Alcoholism is a Disease, Then so is Gambling, Smoking, Nail Biting, etc....

by Robin
(USA)

Well if alcoholism is a disease, then so is gambling, smoking, nail biting, etc. Chances are that no one will ever be fired for biting their nails or gambling, unless it interferes with their job performance or job attendance, which would just then be for attendance, as chances are, most employers would be allowed to just use that.

I've met more people with "addictions" than without, so what does that mean? Most people don't start any habit, behavioral disorder, (addiction) with the desire to become addicted - but from what I've seen in my long 57 years is that if they persist, they will eventually become just that, an addict, or habitual user.

All addictions are comfort zones because of the endorphins they release, but they can be stopped if the person who is addicted chooses to stop. Is it hard to stop??? Hell yes it is, but not impossible, which is where my argument lies.

Someone with a real disease like Cancer does not choose it, nor do they have any real power over it, and no matter how much they want to stop it, they usually cannot, and it usually requires very strong medications to kill it. I know this, because I lost my husband to Lymphoma (Cancer of the Lymph System).

By the time they realized what he had, it was too far gone, and even as much as he tried to keep up his spirits and eat as healthy as possible, he lost the battle. And let me tell you, he had no desire to die.

Maybe what we should do is start educating students earlier as to how to deal as best as they can with an addictive parent(s), and maybe we should show them real films of alcoholics, junkies, etc.....and maybe we should address the issue of how some addicts are not just sloppy drunks or junkies, but can be violent and even deadly to those around them, and what children especially can do to avoid being at the other end of an addict like that.

Seriously, we do not do enough prior to the problem happening, and then after it happens, the people who live around them tend to enable, or as some would say, "Love Them To Death". This is where they should know to take some Tough Love classes, but many people do not out of ignorance or embarrassment, or even threat by the addict.

I hear so many people say, "If I had only let him in the house when he came home drunk, or if only I'd given her a ride, or if only...." The people who live around these people should be given a title as well ... for instance ... 'live-arounds,' as that is what they are.

They live around the abuse(s). They eventually become enablers, but as we know in this country, people take that term as offensive, as they feel that blame is being laid upon them. So let's call it something less offensive, like 'live-arounds.'

We really have to start addressing this situation openly and honestly, and stop enabling. Until we do that, it will not change. AA is wonderful, but was designed to allow or basically (enable) that addict to fall off the wagon repeatedly if he or she so desires. That is where the system fails them, although that is why many of the abusers use it.

Addicts are the biggest cons in the world. Their abuse is what makes them so good at conning, and usually, if they manage to clean their acts up by taking responsibility for their actions, they are usually very successful in business, due to their ability to chat someone or anyone up for that matter.

So, I suppose that even out of bad behavior, something good can happen. But to call these addictions, behavioral disorders, or habitual behaviors a disease is in my opinion, an insult to people with real diseases, such as Cancer, or Parkinsons, or anyone of those "REAL" diseases. Anyone care to comment?