I truly appreciate this post, thank you so much for sharing it so well. I was obsessed with this question "Is it a disease?" for the first two years of my recovery. I think it was really a desperate longing to understand "What happened to me??"
I had to discover my own addiction through hindsight, through piecing it all together in recovery. It's totally disorienting. And it has been so eye-opening to realize, just as you say, no one agrees on one simple definition of whatever this 'thing' is.
Only we know, deep down, what it was like to go through it, and to recover from it. I just wish more people were interested in "What was it like for you?" with an open heart and mind, than to assume they know.
Thank you for you perspective on this Katie. For me personally I found it hugely liberating to read The Biology of Desire and the argument that addiction isn’t a disease; it was a step towards hope and empowerment that I desperately needed. I already felt broken and defective in my addiction and being told I was sick put me in a position where I felt so much shame and hopelessness, and separation from others. Seeing my addiction as an understandable response to trauma and other painful experiences, an innocent brain adaptation to help me cope, was what enabled me to recover and now be completely free from the desire to drink. I admit that I am choosing to believe this and there may be other perspectives. As you say - it doesn’t necessarily matter, what matters is what helps people recover and what helps people to support those in need to recover.
We all choose to believe something! Why not make it be whatever helps you the most? They're all just different frameworks for thinking about the same fundamental issue. Thank you for your comment.
I've always questioned this. It took me 35 years to release anger and understand mom and dad suffered from a disease/addiction/something, not a moral weakness but a physical weakness. Alcoholism is complicated because you don’t recover through traditional medicine like taking a shot of insulin to control diabetes or swallowing a pill to control high blood pressure. It takes a colossal amount of willpower to recover. If we studied the behavioral effort/positive thinking it takes to cure any illness would we find similarities in the brain? Love your writing. Love your topics. Thank you for raising awareness.
I'm a child of alcoholism as well and eventually developing it myself was really interesting. It was only then that I really understood that my parent's addiction wasn't because "they didn't love me enough" because I loved so many people in my addiction who I tried and failed to stay sober "for"
It doesn't matter, you're right - I think it only matters if it helps you in your journey. The general "you," not you-Katie, but I also hope it helps you, Katie. :)
Maybe because I have other "disorders" that are equally chronic and persistent (ADHD, anxiety, PTSD), I just don't see a huge difference between disorders and diseases (I understand the medical difference, but from a practical, layperson POV). They're all medical conditions with social and environmental triggers that I need to manage on an ongoing basis.
I truly appreciate this post, thank you so much for sharing it so well. I was obsessed with this question "Is it a disease?" for the first two years of my recovery. I think it was really a desperate longing to understand "What happened to me??"
I had to discover my own addiction through hindsight, through piecing it all together in recovery. It's totally disorienting. And it has been so eye-opening to realize, just as you say, no one agrees on one simple definition of whatever this 'thing' is.
Only we know, deep down, what it was like to go through it, and to recover from it. I just wish more people were interested in "What was it like for you?" with an open heart and mind, than to assume they know.
Yes! and also that one person's interpretation of their experience isn't a commentary on the other person's experience.
THAT PART! Exactly.
Thank you for you perspective on this Katie. For me personally I found it hugely liberating to read The Biology of Desire and the argument that addiction isn’t a disease; it was a step towards hope and empowerment that I desperately needed. I already felt broken and defective in my addiction and being told I was sick put me in a position where I felt so much shame and hopelessness, and separation from others. Seeing my addiction as an understandable response to trauma and other painful experiences, an innocent brain adaptation to help me cope, was what enabled me to recover and now be completely free from the desire to drink. I admit that I am choosing to believe this and there may be other perspectives. As you say - it doesn’t necessarily matter, what matters is what helps people recover and what helps people to support those in need to recover.
We all choose to believe something! Why not make it be whatever helps you the most? They're all just different frameworks for thinking about the same fundamental issue. Thank you for your comment.
I've always questioned this. It took me 35 years to release anger and understand mom and dad suffered from a disease/addiction/something, not a moral weakness but a physical weakness. Alcoholism is complicated because you don’t recover through traditional medicine like taking a shot of insulin to control diabetes or swallowing a pill to control high blood pressure. It takes a colossal amount of willpower to recover. If we studied the behavioral effort/positive thinking it takes to cure any illness would we find similarities in the brain? Love your writing. Love your topics. Thank you for raising awareness.
I'm a child of alcoholism as well and eventually developing it myself was really interesting. It was only then that I really understood that my parent's addiction wasn't because "they didn't love me enough" because I loved so many people in my addiction who I tried and failed to stay sober "for"
It doesn't matter, you're right - I think it only matters if it helps you in your journey. The general "you," not you-Katie, but I also hope it helps you, Katie. :)
Maybe because I have other "disorders" that are equally chronic and persistent (ADHD, anxiety, PTSD), I just don't see a huge difference between disorders and diseases (I understand the medical difference, but from a practical, layperson POV). They're all medical conditions with social and environmental triggers that I need to manage on an ongoing basis.