Have you ever had that feeling where you can’t get enough of something? Something that doesn’t involve chemicals or additives.. a thing that you just can’t seem to peel your hands, or mind off of…maybe a person? a book? or even a phone? Well if you didn’t know… that feeling is called addiction.
No, Im not addicted to cigarettes, gambling, or sex (all three of which are very common) but I do believe I am addicted to my phone and capturing moments that I think ill never get back. Thousands and thousands of pictures take up the memory of my 64 gb iPhone which I constantly have to sync to my computer. I get the same pleasure out of taking a picture of my friends walking down the street as you do taking a puff of that cigarette. But why? Because were addicted.
Addiction is a disease…a disease (in my opinion) that can only be cured through a mental cleanse, or maybe it can’t be cured just managed. I say a mental cleanse… because its all in your head. Some say addiction is such a serious psychological disease that there is no cure…its irremediable. The definition of addiction is “a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry”. The term brain reward (again, in my opinion), sums up the disease of addiction in the simplest of terms. When your desire is fulfilled, you feel rewarded. Whether you feel the reward physically or mentally, your addiction satisfies you.
So this leads me to ask… Is addiction a disease or is it just a mind game?
Another issue to bring up would be physical vs. mental addiction. I know the thing for young boys to say is that marijuana isn’t addictive because it lacks the nicotine that cigarettes have. It’s funny though, those are the same guys that can’t go a day without smoking pot. I think that the nicotine causes a physical dependence as it’s main purpose, but not having nicotine doesn’t mean that a drug or anything really can’t cause addiction. (Sorry, that was a lot of negatives in one sentence fragment). Drugs of any kind can be addictive, as can cell phones, shopping, alcohol, and video games.
I just left a comment but the critical thinking on this subject led me to another point. “Head games” are what I assume to be another way of saying mental illness. And do we consider mental disorder to be equivalent to actual, physical disease? According to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, mental disorder is not in fact disease unless some technique of medical examination can prove that there is a deficiency in the brain or another form of anatomy in a human. Check out this website and let me know what you think: http://www.cchr.org/quick-facts/real-disease-vs-mental-disorder.html
My thought process in deciding whether or not addiction is a disease leads me straight to genetics. If addiction is a disease, are you born with it or do you catch it? Alcoholics, who are obviously addicted to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, can be seen from two different perspectives. The first is that there is a family history of alcoholism, in which the “disease” would seem to be genetic. This means that by exposing themselves to alcohol, it was somewhat inevitable that they could become addicted. The second is that one brought the addiction upon themselves, by drinking to cope or for pleasure or whatever reason. In that case, the family has nothing to do with it and it is not as excusable by some standards. I’m interested in hearing your opinion on this.