Addiction is a Disease. Here's Why.
There are those that say addicts and people who are dependent on alcohol made their choices. They picked up their first drink, they tried their first illicit substance, they were present and willing every time the decision to drink and use again was made. They view the addict or alcoholic as “weak willed” or rebellious and selfish, and fail to see the human being displaying symptoms of a potentially fatal disease. Addiction is a disease. Here’s why.
How Addiction Works
Eating, exercising, having sex - these are exampes of activities that stimulate the primal parts of our brain associated with survival, and by engaging in them we flood our brains with the neurotransmitter dopamine. We experience intense feelings of pleasure and joy, and the intensity of these sensations awakens our desire to do them again. This is how we have survived as a species up until now. The problem however is that these are not the only things that can cause such a reaction.
Drinking and using disrupts our brain's ability to regulate the production of dopamine and so we become flooded with feelings of pleasure and elation. We feel invincible - the sexiest, most gregarious, interesting and limitless version of ourselves. We climb to the highest of highs, only to then fall to the lowest of lows. Depression, shame, guilt and remorse cloud our every waking moment while our mind races, reliving with freshly sober shattering horror every moment of our “high”. Our brain cannot produce the dopamine that we crave so we sit in misery until it is able to regulate itself again. However, while almost all of us have drank or used substances, not all of us become addicts.
The same way that a diabetic cannot produce insulin at a functional level, the brain of a person deep in addiction cannot feel “normal” until they are using again. A fatal reward system has been created that is almost biologically impossible to fight against. The same way a non-addict craves water, the addict’s body pines to have their thirst quenched - with poor choices, financial instability, and damaged relationships as a consequence. But what marks the difference between someone who can enjoy the occasional drink or the occasional hangover and someone who, seemingly helplessly, looks on while they destroy the very fabric of their lives?
Controlling addiction?
We cannot control our inherent genetic sensitivities. We cannot control how our bodies respond to substances, both legal and illegal - we find this out through a process of experimentation, trial and error. We have all experimented in our lives, with positive and negative results. How can it be morally right to judge or blame someone over something they cannot control? If I revealed that I was allergic to penicillin would I have to be apprehensive about potential scorn or discrimination? Would I let things deteriorate in secret behind the scenes, terrified that my secret would be revealed? Absolutely not. And in this lies hope.
By realizing that alcoholism and substance abuse are diseases that afflict many that walk among us we remove the negative, shame-laden labels that have encumbered us. We come back to our humanity and remember that no human being chooses to be sick. We remove the heavy burden of the cross we’ve been unconsciously bearing and we look towards solutions and a future free from addiction. Free from addiction and full of contentment and peace. That future is possible for everyone, especially you.
If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, get in touch.
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