RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman

[Torren]

I can't stop biting my finger nails. Seriously, I got it bad. Is that a disease? At least I'm not nibbling on my testicles. The Lord above is kind.

The only reason you don't is that you can't reach them.

 

[RockerGuy]

Substance addiction is not a disease. I grind my teeth every time I hear someone saying this. Addiction is not an airborne virus you can inhale. You can't inadvertently contract an addiction, you must be a willing participant.

OK, now that I am in front of a computer, I can finally do some research and clarify & support my first comment.

There are lots of diseases that are not transmitted. We should look for a proper definition of a disease! With that said, on the top of my mind I can name a few diseases that are not "directly" transmitted from one form or another. Heart disease being one, cancer as mentioned, and many other genetic diseases. I believe schizophrenia is also another disease which cannot be DIRECTLY transmitted to another individual. Can be transmitted genetically.

Now for the other part of your comment. You're 50% right & 50% wrong, same as I am! There are two camps on addiction, one classifying it as a disease and the other as a matter of personal choice. Maybe the textbook I read was on the camp on it being a disease or science being updated after they found more evidence. Hey, some theories can be proven and disproved after a few years. But here is a set of good reading if you want to learn more:

[h=2]Is Addiction a Disease?[/h] Addiction is like most major diseases. Consider heart disease, the leading cause of death in the developed world. It's partly due to genes and partly due to poor life style choices such as bad diet, lack of exercise, and smoking. The same is true for other common diseases like adult-onset diabetes. Many forms of cancers are due to a combination of genes and life style. But if your doctor said that you had diabetes or heart disease, you wouldn't think you were bad person. You would think, "What can I do to overcome this disease?" That is how you should approach addiction.
Addiction is not a weakness. The fact that addiction crosses all socio-economic boundaries confirms that addiction is a disease. People who don't know about addiction will tell you that you just need to be stronger to control your use. But if that was true then only unsuccessful people or unmotivated people would have an addiction, and yet 10% of high-functioning executives have an addiction.
If you think of addiction as a weakness, you'll paint yourself into a corner that you can't get out of. You'll focus on being stronger and trying to control your use, instead of treating addiction like a disease and focusing on stopping your use.

http://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/is-addiction-a-disease.htm

http://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/2/155

But I do understand where you're coming from. The term "disease" makes addicts not accepting responsibility for their actions and make them think they are in a helpless spiral

 

[inreb]

Who doesn't have some sort of addiction? Repeatable habits with some minor negative consequences? Something they might want to change or modify but can't? You wouldn't think of that as a disease. But once a repeated addictive behaviour has compounding negative consequences all of a sudden it's a disease? The original action is still the same. Just the results are are more dire with alcohol and hard drugs. Would you think of a functioning regular pot smoker as diseased? No. But if as a result of smoking pot he suffers some major negative consequences, then he is diseased?
Why cheapen the word "disease"?

 

[RockerGuy]

Who doesn't have some sort of addiction? Repeatable habits with some minor negative consequences? Something they might want to change or modify but can't? You wouldn't think of that as a disease. But once a repeated addictive behaviour has compounding negative consequences all of a sudden it's a disease? The original action is still the same. Just the results are are more dire with alcohol and hard drugs. Would you think of a functioning regular pot smoker as diseased? No. But if as a result of smoking pot he suffers some major negative consequences, then he is diseased?
Why cheapen the word "disease"?

Don't get me wrong, the first time they told me that, I was "up in arms" about how they labelled it. But they're the experts in the field and who am I to argue with them when I have no experience/certification in that field? I'm just the messenger boy! I don't have a psyc degree

 

[inreb]

Don't get me wrong, the first time they told me that, I was "up in arms" about how they labelled it. But they're the experts in the field and who am I to argue with them when I have no experience/certification in that field? I'm just the messenger boy! I don't have a psyc degree

Anybody I've ever talked to about this subject had that same reaction. That's very telling. But like anything else, repeat it enough and slowly it becomes accepted. I'm not saying drug or alcohol addiction doesn't have some genetic component to it. Some people are more susceptible to addiction no doubt. I just find it amazing that if you put your mind to it you can cure the "disease". That can't be said for legitimate diseases. Big difference.
That some addicts see no value in a sober life would makes it near impossible to clean up. Obviously. There is some merit to the position that life is pointless.

 

[RockerGuy]

Anybody I've ever talked to about this subject had that same reaction. That's very telling. But like anything else, repeat it enough and slowly it becomes accepted. I'm not saying drug or alcohol addiction doesn't have some genetic component to it. Some people are more susceptible to addiction no doubt. I just find it amazing that if you put your mind to it you can cure the "disease". That can't be said for legitimate diseases. Big difference.
That some addicts see no value in a sober life would makes it near impossible to clean up. Obviously. There is some merit to the position that life is pointless.

Same can be said for Heart diseases. Some can be more susceptible to heart failure or fatty foods. You can change your lifestyle, but that doesn't mean that that the demons are away. If you continuously indulge in such behaviours then your weakness will be apparent.

If you ask me, it is pointless to argue this Topic because if professionals in the field cannot get an agreement, who are us to come to some sort of conclusion?

 

[inreb]

Same can be said for Heart diseases. Some can be more susceptible to heart failure or fatty foods. You can change your lifestyle, but that doesn't mean that that the demons are away. If you continuously indulge in such behaviours then your weakness will be apparent.

If you ask me, it is pointless to argue this Topic because if professionals in the field cannot get an agreement, who are us to come to some sort of conclusion?

#1 I'm a nobody but I am an earthling and I noticed we like to play games i.e. the whole world seems to rotate on BS, never more so when the professionals get involved.

 

[inreb]

The only reason you don't is that you can't reach them.

Oh ya, I forgot to respond to this.