They say that people who believe addiction is a choice and not a disease have never had to deal with it first hand. That's a lie. Since the day I was born, I've dealt with addiction from my parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, you name it. I've lost people due to addiction, I've met people through it, it's a crazy cycle. My mom even used to drag me to Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and trust me, I listened. I don't think there's a day in my life that wasn't impacted by addiction in some way. So believe me when I say I'm confident in my opinion that addiction is indeed, a choice.
Sure there's going to be people who come out of the woodwork hitting me with the what ifs left and right, and yeah sure there's probably some cases out there where the person was prescribed medication and it got out of control, but that is still no excuse for letting s**t hit the fan and letting yourself lose all will power. Medication is prescribed to you- this many doses this many times a day. When you run out of that, you either stop the medication or go to your doctor to continue the dosage. There simply is no excuse.
Now that that's out of the way, since I know I'll get attacked with it sooner or later, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Addiction. Is. A. Choice. Although things like heroin and crack don't exactly come a disclaimer saying how bad they are, I'm sure it's pretty well-known to just about everyone that if you stick a needle in your arm or crush that rock and sniff it up your nose there's going to be some pretty hefty side effects. Addiction, for example. Now, it's common knowledge that this is going to happen, and yet people still CHOOSE to get high for the first time. That sounds like one hell of a choice to me.
No disease on this planet is going to cause a mother or father to choose a substance over their child(ren). To choose a substance over their job, friends, and family. Over themselves even. No one wakes up one morning and chooses to have cancer, for example. There is no disease that has a 12 Step program that heals them. The power to heal yourself from addiction is within you, you control yourself and your mind. Where there is a will, there's a way.
One of the most known prayers in the NA community is the serenity prayer. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." HOW HOW HOW can you sit there and preach something like that and still not know the difference between a choice and a disease, that's literally what you're preaching about.
Growing up I constantly wondered why my mom abandoned me at three years old. She says it was the disease. Was it really, Mom? Or is that just what you call it to make yourself feel better about all the shitty things you did while you were under the influence? What disease is going to cause a parent to abandon their three year old daughter at an unfamiliar run down drug house? The answer is simple. Not a single one.
As long as people are still out there choosing to do, or "try", things like heroin, crack, meth, cocaine, pills, and anything of the sort knowing what will happen to them if they do, addiction will continue to be considered a choice in my mind. Sure everyone's entitled to their opinion, but let's hear your argument.
