A topic that has been flooding all my social media news feed lately.. actually not lately but all the time: addiction. Whether I'm seeing someone saying that it is a disease or it is not a disease, I witness it constantly. I think we all can agree that, sure, it's not a disease like cancer or some other disease that you can't control contracting, but is it a mental one?
The fact of the matter is that addiction is everywhere in our neighborhood, in our backyards, and even in some of our homes. You may know an addict, love an addict, or even be one yourself. Really, we are all addicts in some way. Whether it's having your coffee every morning, going to the gym everyday, or even guess what... the internet, addiction is addiction and it's different for everyone.
I'm not here to tell you that your opinion is wrong because I'm realistic and I know I won't change everyone's mind.. but for those suffering from drug addiction, well maybe we should stop and think about what drove them there in the first place. I don't think anyone wakes up one day and says to themselves " you know what.. I think I want to become an addict today, and for the rest of my life." I suppose I can't speak for everyone but my guess is that it is not what they want for the rest of their lives.
A popular argument that I notice a lot like to use is "Well no one forced them to do the drug, they made the decision all on their own." And you're right; they did make that decision. But you don't know everyone's story and you don't know the path that they walked that made them want to walk down that road. We don't tell a schizophrenic suffering form auditory delusions that they made the decision to hear the voices. We don't tell someone suffering form bipolar disorder to calm down and not feel the way that they are feeling because they chose to feel that way.
I'm trying to make this as unbiased as I possibly can but we can't ignore the fact that drug and alcohol addiction and mental illness has a strong connection.
Do I feel that addiction isn't always a choice? Absolutely. Do I think this applies to every addict? Not necessarily. But I do believe that not every addict should be viewed as a "bad person" or stigmatized. Maybe if we had to walk a mile in their shoes and see their perspective then society could change their views.
