James Gibbons, M.A.
Bio
Stories (3/0)
Disease Concept of Addiction
S1E2: Disase Concept of Addiction When you think about diseases, the first things that come to mind our: cancer, AIDS, heart, etc. However, once somebody mentions that addiction is a disease, you begin to stir up a debate. In most scientific articles, it’s believed that only 51% of Americans believe that addiction is a disease. The other 49% believe that it’s a choice. So, how do we actually determine that addiction is a disease? The first thing we need to do is understand what a disease is. According to medical terms, a disease is defined as:
By James Gibbons, M.A.2 years ago in Psyche
My Addiction Recovery
Addiction is real and it hijacks your brain to the point of no return, and for a lot of people, that is the truth. Some, on the other hand, return to their old self. For those who have returned to their original selves, congratulations! I applaud you for what you have been through. For you see, I was there as well. I have been through the struggle of addiction, depression, and helplessness. Like a lot of people, addiction runs in my family. Not just on one side, but on both my mother and father’s side. My chances of addiction were high the day I was born. Seeing my dad lose control from his alcohol use while I was in high school motivated me to stay sober and never touch alcohol. In fact, I didn’t have my first drink until I had graduated high school. I wasn’t addicted right away after my first drink, it took a few years. I guess you could say I was your typical “college” guy: drinking at parties, going to bars, and having random Tuesday nights drinking with roommates and playing Tiger Woods Golf on the Xbox. It wasn’t until I began developing symptoms of the disease that I fell at a fast rate. Like filling up a cup with water, everything was fine until the glass couldn’t hold the water anymore and overflowed. I began to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety. I began to notice that I was outgoing, funny, confident, and interesting when I was under the influence.
By James Gibbons, M.A.2 years ago in Psyche