Finally a long weekend off after 3 weeks without one. As soon as I get another off I'm going to get internet installed into my barracks room. I miss updating, I miss the internet and all the drama that goes with it.
Speaking of which, Sarah Palin. I'd write a thesis on said person and subject (prego daughter coverup?) but it's been done already on millions of other blogs. And I'm about to get dinner with my dad.
I will however bring up something that I really didn't care about until the other day. Now I use the word 'care' lightly here. I really don't care, but it does give me something to write about. Is alcoholism a disease? And in the same realm is addiction a disease?
al·co·hol·ism noun
a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, morbidity that may include cirrhosis of the liver, and decreased ability to function socially and vocationally.
Don't get me wrong, alcoholism aka "a lack of self control" can be a problem and it can be heartbreaking when someone we love can't stop drinking in turn harming themselves; and only to that extent can it really be likened to being a disease. The American Heritage Dictionary defines 'Disease' partly as "2. A condition or tendency, as of society, regarded as abnormal and harmful." Beyond this parallel there is nothing that goes along with alcoholism or addiction that can label it as a disease.
Alcoholism is a choice. You make that choice to pick up that bottle or to take 'one more' shot.
In a recent Gallup poll, 90% of people surveyed believe that alcoholism is a disease. Most argue that because the American Medical Association (AMA) has proclaimed alcoholism a disease, the idea is without reproach.Alcoholism Is Not A Disease
But, the fact is that the AMA made this determination in the absence of empirical evidence. After reviewing the history of the decision, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the AMA has been pursuing its own agenda in the face of evidence negating the validity of alcoholism.
1 comment:
america is not the only country in the world that diagnoses addiction/alcohlism as a disease. the only reason why there is AA nad NA is because AA has been around longer. and most of the time alcohol is what leads people to drinking. alcoholism is an addiction in itself. an alcohlic is an addict.
"
The fact is, drug addiction is a brain disease. While every type of drug of abuse has its own individual "trigger" for affecting or transforming the brain, many of the results of the transformation are strikingly similar regardless of the addictive drug that is used -- and of course in each instance the result is compulsive use. The brain changes range from fundamental and long-lasting changes in the biochemical makeup of the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and motor skills. And these changes have a tremendous impact on all aspects of a person's behavior. In fact, in addiction the drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in the life of the drug user. He will do virtually anything for the drug. "
due to my percocet usage my brain no longer on it's own creates serotonin, because the opiate usage brought in an abnormal amount of serotonin, thus shutting down my brains natural form of making it..
a disease is:
# An abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disease
- A process that is a hazard to health and/or longevity.
Addictions have stages.
People become mentally and physicall dependent upon drugs.
Continued use of drugs is a hazrd to health and or longevity.
Type II diabetes is caused by unhealthy eating. It is caused by fat people [in some cases] eating the wrong foods. You said you count diabetes as a disease. This is as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. Those people CHOSE to eat unhealthy foods. just like an addict CHOSE to pick up that drug.
alcohol withdrawal is the only one that can KILL you.
This unexpected consequence of drug use is what I have come to call the oops phenomenon. Why oops? Because the harmful outcome is in no way intentional. Just as no one starts out to have lung cancer when they smoke, or no one starts out to have clogged arteries when they eat fried foods which in turn usually cause heart attacks, no one starts out to become a drug addict when they use drugs. But in each case, though no one meant to behave in a way that would lead to tragic health consequences, that is what happened just the same, because of the inexorable, and undetected, destructive biochemical processes at work.
I realize that this flies in the face of the notion that drug addiction boils down to a serious character flaw -- that those addicted to drugs are just too weak-willed to quit drug use on their own. But the moral weakness notion itself flies in the face of all scientific evidence, and so it should be discarded.
It should be stressed, however, that to assert that drug addiction is a brain disease is by no means the same thing as saying that those addicted to drugs are not accountable for their actions, or that they are just unwitting, hapless victims of the harmful effects that use of addictive drugs has on their brains, and in every facet of their lives.
Just as their behavior at the outset was pivotal in putting them on a collision course with compulsive drug use, their behavior after becoming addicted is just as critical if they are to be effectively treated and to recover.
At minimum, they have to adhere to their drug treatment regimen. But this can pose an enormous challenge. The changes in their brain that turned them into compulsive users make it a daunting enough task to control their actions and complete treatment. Making it even more difficult is the fact that their craving becomes more heightened and irresistible whenever they are exposed to any situation that triggers a memory of the euphoric experience of drug use. Little wonder, then, that most compulsive drug users can't quit on their own, even if they want to (for instance, at most only 7 percent of those who try in any one year to quit smoking cigarettes on their own actually succeed). This is why it is essential that they enter a drug treatment program, even if they don't want to at the outset.
What is unique about the type of brain disease that results from drug abuse is that it starts out as voluntary behavior. But once continued use of an addictive drug brings about structural and functional changes in the brain that cause compulsive use, the disease-ravaged brain of a drug user closely resembles that of people with other kinds of brain diseases.
It's also important to bear in mind that we now see addiction as a chronic, virtually life-long illness for many people. And relapse is a common phenomenon in all forms of chronic illness -- from asthma and diabetes, to hypertension and addiction. The goals of successive treatments, as with other chronic illnesses, are to manage the illness and increase the intervals between relapses, until there are no more.
Post a Comment