Disease concept explained.

 

Imagine hearing the doctor say, “You have fatal condition. There is no cure however, there is treatment. Only through this treatment can we guarantee your survival”. What do you suppose your reaction would be? I had this conversation with a doctor. Not once or twice, but several times in fact. Each time I chose not to listen I crept closer to death. Each time I ignored my disease, I got sicker and weaker until, at last, I chose to act. I accepted the truth behind my condition; I took action; I sought help and guidance; I got the treatment that I needed to survive, and through this treatment I have a better life that I could have ever imagined. What was my condition? Alcoholism. What I just described is the true definition of “The Disease Concept” of addiction.

There are many who believe that the disease concept was, in fact, dreamed up by addicts themselves as an excuse to continue doing the drugs of choice. This is not only incorrect, it is dangerously malicious and misleading. There are also those who outright decry the disease concept as a myth because “using is a choice”. If that is your stance then consider the following. People do choose to drink or do drugs that is true, but no one chooses to be an addict. Just as some choose to smoke, none choose to get lung cancer. Just as some choose to drink soda pop and eat fast food, it unlikely that any have ever chosen to become obese or diabetic. Why is it so farfetched to think that addiction could also be a disease? It has the pathology of a disease, it requires medical observation and a change of lifestyle. The fact is, that believing the disease concept saved my life. Without it, I honestly don’t think I would be here today. I am not alone, hundreds of thousands of addicted people have gotten their lives back on track by learning to see addiction this way and treat it accordingly. Unless you have ever experienced the battle of recovery then your opinion on this topic is null and void. If you believe anything other than what I described in the first paragraph, then you are a dangerously ignorant purveyor of misinformation.