What The Internet Is Missing In The 'Is Addiction A Disease Or Choice' Debate

Every single time that I open up my Facebook, I see posts surrounding the debate around addiction. Is it a choice? Is it a disease?

The one thing I don't see anyone talking about is how shitty addiction is, and how we can educate people against it,

Being an addict of self-harm for five years, I'm definitely not able to compare myself to people addicted to narcotics, amphetamines, opioids, or even nicotine.

However, I can say that I have been addicted to something and that I have experienced the thought process and the struggles of quitting the bad habit.

Addiction is all around the world. According to American Addiction Centers, over 7 million Americans in 2014 battled a drug use disorder. Touching back onto the base with self-harm, approximately two million cases of self-harm are reported annually in the U.S., according to HealthyPlace.

The internet is completely oblivious right now as to how much addiction sucks. I never see anyone speaking out about how addiction is ruining the world or how we can stop it. All I see are people arguing about how it's a choice or a disease, no matter the circumstances.

Instead of debating about how we view addiction and slewing out insults over someone's opinions, how about we review the facts on how addiction tears apart people and their families?

A research was done by CASAColumbia in April of 2004 surrounding addiction and how it affects families. According to the information recorded, parents who used tobacco or illegal drugs or abused alcohol put more than 35 million children at greater risk of substance abuse and other physical and mental illnesses. It also examined that children of parents who abused alcohol and other drugs were at increased risk of accidents, injuries, and academic failure. Such children were more likely to suffer conduct disorders, depression or anxiety, which are all conditions that increased the risk children will smoke, drink and use other drugs.

Therefore, addictive behaviors can also be inherited.

Addiction is also one of the most leading causes of celebrity deaths. According to Wikipedia, between 2000 and 2014, fatal overdoses from celebrities rose 137% in the United States, causing nearly half a million deaths in that time period.

You've seen the headlines, Demi Lovato is hospitalized from overdosing, a rapper named Lil Peep passed away due to overdose. It's almost as if every single time we open our phones or computers, we see that someone has passed from addiction.

I don't care about your opinion on addiction. I care about how it affects us as people, families, friends, etc. Addiction shouldn't be just a debate on the internet: It should be a way to educate people on how to stop addiction from happening, and how we could potentially end it.