Do you believe addiction is a disease?

Answer 1

No, it's a chemical cause and effect. A disease is an invasion of a body by a detrimental bacterium or virus. Addiction is just that, an inbalanced created by the use of a chemical which creates dependency.

Answer 2

YES!!! I am a recovering addict and I was told this when I first got clean: DISEASE - break it down - DIS / EASE. I was at dis-ease with my addiction. I didn't understand why I was getting high and kept doing it.
The AA website states the following about alcoholism: What is alcoholism?
There are many different ideas about what alcoholism really is.
The explanation that seems to make sense to most A.A. members is that alcoholism is an illness, a progressive illness, which can never be cured but which, like some other diseases, can be arrested. Going one step further, many A.A.s feel that the illness represents the combination of a physical sensitivity to alcohol and a mental obsession with drinking, which, regardless of consequences, cannot be broken by willpower alone.

Before they are exposed to A.A., many alcoholics who are unable to stop drinking think of themselves as morally weak or, possibly, mentally unbalanced. The A.A. concept is that alcoholics are sick people who can recover if they will follow a simple program that has proved successful for more than one and a half million men and women.

Once alcoholism has set in, there is nothing morally wrong about being ill. At this stage, free will is not involved, because the sufferer has lost the power of choice over alcohol. The important thing is to face the facts of one's illness and to take advantage of the help that is available. There must also be a desire to get well. Experience shows that the A.A. program will work for all alcoholics who are sincere in their efforts to stop drinking; it usually will not work for those not absolutely certain that they want to stop.

Also, refer to this website for drug addiction:http://www.na.org/basic.htm

Answer 3

if u can get rid of addiction without any post complication, assume addiction not as a disease. If any complication arises or an earnest desire to resume the same, take it granted as a disease.

Answer 4

No I think it's a type of behavior, you can't choose not to have a disease like cancer or anemia but you can choose to quit your addictive behavior. Someone drinking or doing drugs or anything in excess can be stopped so it's not a disease.

Answer 5

To some extent. It can run in families. Alcoholism is often found in families so the tendency is inherited.

Answer 6

Yep.