Recently, it has been in discussion that addiction should be considered a disorder as opposed to a problem for which people can seek treatment. A disorder is defined as any psychological implication that impairs the normal functioning of the brain. Addiction is associated mainly with substance abuse, but can stem into other forms such as addiction to sex. The reasoning behind changing the definition of addiction is claimed to be due to the fact that addiction is purely associated with substance abuse, which however correct that is, does not include the other areas in which a person can be addicted.
The problem with changing the definition of an addiction to a disorder is the stigma that revolves around mental disorders. This stigma is created not only by society as a whole, but also the medical field. A disorder is an incurable mental illness, although it may be controlled and monitored through strict treatment plans and medications, an individual is never “cured” of a mental disorder.
On the other hand, we see addicts kick their habits every day. Some choose to go through therapy or support groups such as AA (alcoholics anonymous) or choose to use medication prescribed by a doctor (Nicorette, to prevent smoking). For example, Nikki Sixx drank heavily and used heroin daily for years and has now been clean for a decade…addiction is a curable issue.
The stigma that surrounds mental illness is that someone is sick, broken, somehow less adequate than their peers. Is this really the attitude we need to be conveying to an addict? That although their problem can be corrected with some determination, therapy and modern medicine that nobody thinks they can? After all, most mental disorders are permanent—the symptoms may lessen and the behavior may improve but their brains will never fully function at maximum capacity or “normally”.
A person with a mental disorder cannot wake up one morning and say to themselves “today is the day I stop being depressed.” It doesn’t work that way, and it will never work that way. To believe that it works that way is a myth. A mental disorder is much more comprehensive than simply waking up one morning and deciding that you’re suddenly going to “get better.” However, someone who smokes cigarettes or is addicted to sex can wake up one morning and say, “This is the day I decide to get help” or “this is my last pack of cigarettes and once it’s gone, I won’t be smoking anymore.” You can’t make these statements with a mental disorder and expect the person to be motivated to “get better” for something that isn’t 100 percent curable.
The stigma that follows mental illness would only seem to deter the addict from seeking help. When looking at something as a curable and feasible problem, it’s easier to see some sort of positive solution coming out of it. An addict doesn’t go into rehab knowing that they won’t ever be cured, they check into a rehab knowing that at the end of it, they realistically shouldn’t have any problem functioning as any “normal” person would.
So why change the definition of addiction in the first place? Addicts already have a social stigma surrounding them, why tack on another one that they may never feel as though they are free from?
