Addiction is not a disease

[C C]

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

EXCERPT: Over the past year and a half, Scientific American has published a number of fine articles arguing that addiction is not a disease, that drugs are not the cause of addiction, and that social and societal factors are fundamental contributors to opioid addiction in general and the overdose crisis in particular. The dominant view, that addiction is a disease resulting from drug use, is gradually being eroded by these and other incisive critiques. Yet the disease model and its corollaries still prevail in the domains of research, policy setting, knowledge dissemination and treatment delivery, more in the United States than in any other country in the developed world. You might wonder: what are we waiting for?

The disease model remains dominant in the U.S. because of its stakeholders. First, the rehab industry, worth an estimated $35 billion per year, uses the disease nomenclature in a vast majority of its ads and slogans. Despite consistently low success rates, that's not likely to stop because it pulls in the cash. Second, as long as addiction is labeled a disease, medical insurance providers can be required to pay for it. [...] Third, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [...] funds roughly 90 percent of addiction research worldwide, is a medically oriented funder and policy setter, as are [...] other similar bodies.

For these organizations to confess that addiction isn't really a disease would be tantamount to admitting that they're in no position to tackle it, which would be a form of institutional suicide. And finally, there are the families of addicts, many of whom welcome the idea that addiction is a disease because that implies that their loved ones are not bad people after all...

MORE: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

[RainbowUnicorn]

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

EXCERPT: Over the past year and a half, Scientific American has published a number of fine articles arguing that addiction is not a disease, that drugs are not the cause of addiction, and that social and societal factors are fundamental contributors to opioid addiction in general and the overdose crisis in particular. The dominant view, that addiction is a disease resulting from drug use, is gradually being eroded by these and other incisive critiques. Yet the disease model and its corollaries still prevail in the domains of research, policy setting, knowledge dissemination and treatment delivery, more in the United States than in any other country in the developed world. You might wonder: what are we waiting for?

The disease model remains dominant in the U.S. because of its stakeholders. First, the rehab industry, worth an estimated $35 billion per year, uses the disease nomenclature in a vast majority of its ads and slogans. Despite consistently low success rates, that's not likely to stop because it pulls in the cash. Second, as long as addiction is labeled a disease, medical insurance providers can be required to pay for it. [...] Third, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [...] funds roughly 90 percent of addiction research worldwide, is a medically oriented funder and policy setter, as are [...] other similar bodies.

For these organizations to confess that addiction isn't really a disease would be tantamount to admitting that they're in no position to tackle it, which would be a form of institutional suicide. And finally, there are the families of addicts, many of whom welcome the idea that addiction is a disease because that implies that their loved ones are not bad people after all...

MORE: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

EXCERPT: Over the past year and a half, Scientific American has published a number of fine articles arguing that addiction is not a disease, that drugs are not the cause of addiction, and that social and societal factors are fundamental contributors to opioid addiction in general and the overdose crisis in particular. The dominant view, that addiction is a disease resulting from drug use, is gradually being eroded by these and other incisive critiques. Yet the disease model and its corollaries still prevail in the domains of research, policy setting, knowledge dissemination and treatment delivery,

treatment delivery
medical profesionals ... some work for private profit-inflationary companies, whom have the  sole purpose to increase profit as much as possible and cut expenses.
[b]research
[/b]academic-profesionals(Doctors) whom do it mostly for free . unpaid work valuing into the tens of millions per year

policy setting, knowledge dissemination
(US model)political footballs used to win votes and feed personal egos of celebrities whom wish to control power.

US Model, belief is a cult-like religious based dogma used to control science and dictate policy on medical science to prevent the common person gaining self control & knowledge.
This Dogma espoused by most celebrity leaders(politicians) is hinged on the Puritin perception of alcahol and the great prohabition.
... effectively they are living 100 years behind modern society in intelligence & intellect & morality(note slavery & racism & equal rights).

Demonizing behaviours and innanimate objects to manipulate as control levers on social behaviour...

Control of people is their primary goal and is echoed clearly in their Dogma of not letting other things permiate their dogma of control principals... i.e alcahol, recreational drugs, Yoga, alternative concepts of correlative ideation, gender identity, sexual behaviour, coupling models, materialist iconology.

throwing raw meat into a bucket of apple sauce to prove apple sauce is un-clean & inherantly degenerative is the basic logic. thus seperating the cult from the science is extremely difficult.

is going to church and donating money to the church an addiction ?

the rehab industry, worth an estimated $35 billion per year

Capitalism
masquerading as religion to exercise tax avoidance ?

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https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

EXCERPT: Over the past year and a half, Scientific American has published a number of fine articles arguing that addiction is not a disease, that drugs are not the cause of addiction, and that social and societal factors are fundamental contributors to opioid addiction in general and the overdose crisis in particular. The dominant view, that addiction is a disease resulting from drug use, is gradually being eroded by these and other incisive critiques. Yet the disease model and its corollaries still prevail in the domains of research, policy setting, knowledge dissemination and treatment delivery, more in the United States than in any other country in the developed world. You might wonder: what are we waiting for?

The disease model remains dominant in the U.S. because of its stakeholders. First, the rehab industry, worth an estimated $35 billion per year, uses the disease nomenclature in a vast majority of its ads and slogans. Despite consistently low success rates, that's not likely to stop because it pulls in the cash. Second, as long as addiction is labeled a disease, medical insurance providers can be required to pay for it. [...] Third, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [...] funds roughly 90 percent of addiction research worldwide, is a medically oriented funder and policy setter, as are [...] other similar bodies.

For these organizations to confess that addiction isn't really a disease would be tantamount to admitting that they're in no position to tackle it, which would be a form of institutional suicide. And finally, there are the families of addicts, many of whom welcome the idea that addiction is a disease because that implies that their loved ones are not bad people after all...

MORE: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

institutional suicide

private profit capitalism is not "Government Institution", however the propoganda used to frame the idea is duely noted.

admitting that they're in no position to tackle it

"washing their hands" to avoid accountability ... to maintain their ability to exercise profit from the process and remain un-accountable to social policy & social morality.

"tackle" is such a corporate avoidance word. pretending to be "not tough enough" and knowing when to "admit when you cant handle the real issue" so you can "Avoid having to pay for financial accountability".

The culture of language used in many of these supposed studys clearly defines the encompassing brainwashing.
almost always summing up at the end of the article with a big "its not easy to solve" disclaimer because free speach is not free.

[Syne]

A disease requires a "treatment", whereas a behavior can just be changed. There's nothing to market for "change your behavior", except maybe behavioral psychologists.
For the most part, addiction, obesity, etc. are personal failings that people are eager to find a "disease" excuse for.

[RainbowUnicorn]

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

EXCERPT: Over the past year and a half, Scientific American has published a number of fine articles arguing that addiction is not a disease, that drugs are not the cause of addiction, and that social and societal factors are fundamental contributors to opioid addiction in general and the overdose crisis in particular. The dominant view, that addiction is a disease resulting from drug use, is gradually being eroded by these and other incisive critiques. Yet the disease model and its corollaries still prevail in the domains of research, policy setting, knowledge dissemination and treatment delivery, more in the United States than in any other country in the developed world. You might wonder: what are we waiting for?

The disease model remains dominant in the U.S. because of its stakeholders. First, the rehab industry, worth an estimated $35 billion per year, uses the disease nomenclature in a vast majority of its ads and slogans. Despite consistently low success rates, that's not likely to stop because it pulls in the cash. Second, as long as addiction is labeled a disease, medical insurance providers can be required to pay for it. [...] Third, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [...] funds roughly 90 percent of addiction research worldwide, is a medically oriented funder and policy setter, as are [...] other similar bodies.

For these organizations to confess that addiction isn't really a disease would be tantamount to admitting that they're in no position to tackle it, which would be a form of institutional suicide. And finally, there are the families of addicts, many of whom welcome the idea that addiction is a disease because that implies that their loved ones are not bad people after all...

MORE: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs...than-good/

And finally, there are the families of addicts, many of whom welcome the idea that addiction is a disease because that implies that their loved ones are not bad people after all...

Good, Bad, Sick, Mentally Ill....
soo lathered in religous dogma...
much is the common US person.
unfortunately pandering to that psychological brainwashing does not solve the medical issue.

what addiction costs the most money in the USA ?
church !

what industry kills the most people in the USA ?
Capitalist health care !

irony

[Leigha]

I lean in agreement with Syne, with the caveat that addictions can stem from psychological diseases. Perhaps, clinical depression can lead to addiction, and so on. But, many people who have addictions of all sorts, usually cling to those addictions to escape something, perhaps their past, perhaps their present. It is unfortunate that modern medicine often emphasizes a person's addiction, labeling him/her a ''victim,'' whereas they'd be better off in helping the addict to get to the heart of why they are addicted in the first place. No one is born an addict, besides infants whose mothers were smoking crack, for example, during their pregnancies. For most, it's a learned coping mechanism that adults use to escape.

To put a porn addiction on the same level as cancer, for example, in terms of labeling both a ''disease,'' is dangerous. Just my opinion, but we have a society filled with perpetual victims (who like being victims), because of how we mislabel things, methinks.

[Syne]

Yeah, addiction (drug, food, etc.) most often seems just poor coping skills.

The "once an addict always an addict" refrain of 12 Step Programs seems almost calculated to keep them going.

[RainbowUnicorn]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics...alcoholism

More informally than not, AA's membership has helped popularize the disease concept of alcoholism, though AA officially has had no part in the development of such postulates which had appeared as early as the late eighteenth century.[58] Though AA initially avoided the term "disease", in 1973 conference-approved literature categorically stated that "we had the disease of alcoholism."[59][better source needed] Regardless of official positions, from AA's inception most members have believed alcoholism to be a disease.[60]

popular terminology is a tool to access current modes of social frames.
terminology does not define functionality.
interestingly we are deemed to be in the age of communication.
thus helpful AND unhelpful naval gazing is simply part of the landscape.

if it works, it works.
The psychopothy of addiction is equal to the comprehension of psychosis.

abstract hindsight  defines absolutes
concurrent functionality defines conjoint municipality

[Zinjanthropos]

There are people who can quit cold turkey. I know people who when told they had a medical problem related to drug use, just upped and stopped. Many pregnant women are good at stopping drug use, at least for the length of a pregnancy.

I once had a job that took me into many grow ops and crack houses. I've seen the lowest of the lows. What people will do for a fix, or maybe I should say what people will give up for a fix, is totally amazing. Living like pigs, nothing else on their mind except take a hit. Never once thought of addiction as a disease because like most people who commit crimes, they know some things are just plain wrong. Whether drugs or anything in life, people choose poorly. They don't heed sage advice, think they're invincible and generally shelve any self discipline they might have had. Peer pressure perhaps? Remember when your parent would say, "If so and so said it was good to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

[Magical Realist]

But, many people who have addictions of all sorts, usually cling to those addictions to escape something, perhaps their past, perhaps their present. It is unfortunate that modern medicine often emphasizes a person's addiction, labeling him/her a ''victim,'' whereas they'd be better off in helping the addict to get to the heart of why they are addicted in the first place.

Many rehab facilities include programs that treat addiction as well as the underlying psychological issues/dysfunction fueling the addiction. It's called dual diagnosis and has a good track record for working. I would say most addiction is an attempt to self-medicate one's own underlying dysfunctional issues. These are probably the hardest cases to crack, but it is my belief that when a depressed or traumatized or anorexic drug abuser can get the meds and therapy they need that this is the best way to treat the addiction. Addiction itself may not be so much a disease as a symptom of these underlying mental issues that 1 in 4 people face in their lives. I'm not in favor of calling addiction a character flaw as that only stigmatizes it and makes the abuser shameful and more dependent on the escape mechanism of drugs.

[RainbowUnicorn]

There are people who can quit cold turkey. I know people who when told they had a medical problem related to drug use, just upped and stopped. Many pregnant women are good at stopping drug use, at least for the length of a pregnancy.

I once had a job that took me into many grow ops and crack houses. I've seen the lowest of the lows. What people will do for a fix, or maybe I should say what people will give up for a fix, is totally amazing. Living like pigs, nothing else on their mind except take a hit. Never once thought of addiction as a disease because like most people who commit crimes, they know some things are just plain wrong. Whether drugs or anything in life, people choose poorly. They don't heed sage advice, think they're invincible and generally shelve any self discipline they might have had. Peer pressure perhaps? Remember when your parent would say, "If so and so said it was good to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

interesting thought about potential relationship to heard effect programming by parents.

most get obsessed with power and control ideation... thus allowing the individuation concept you refer to, to go completely unnoticed by most.

hhmmm...

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side note, while i sit here typing, readig etc.. i know there are other things i should be doing which generically seem more important.. housework etc etc...

is this a sign of an addictive process at play ?
is there a difference between the need to feed the mind in some ways Vs drug addictions ?
is there an underlying chemical relationship to various biological conditions that make chemicals more receptive to the mind of various people?(im fairly sure this has already been answered as a yes by science)

thus... is there any relationship between the boundary between managing various tasks of domesticity in a generic needs based triangle that may fudge connectivity relationships of addictive processes ?

p.s additionally, with hard core addicts, how much time do they spend each day pursuing "play" (my suspicion is very little and far too little) possibly something broken with this process of management to control the boundary between feeding the mind with play and sacrificing the mind to escapism... ?

hhmm...