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As an ex-heroin addict, I agree. I also agree with the author/scientist who was interviewed in the article; my personal addiction was far more behaviour based t
by girvo 11y ago
As an ex-heroin addict, I agree. I also agree with the author/scientist who was interviewed in the article; my personal addiction was far more behaviour based than it was a disease. Becoming an addict takes practice and choices, and it was taking responsibility for that, along with a great support system from my family and governmental medical help that helped me break the 6 year cycle. As of today, I've been clean for three years. That said, N=1, and from others I used to associate with (many who are no longer with us), the disease model makes more sense.
Basically, I think addiction is complex, and any one way of thinking about it will likely miss a lot.
- BurningFrog 11y agoThere was a study suggesting that what we call Schizophrenia is really 8 separate conditions with similar symptoms. That is probably how most mental disorders are. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/16/health/schizophrenia-eight-diseases/ http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/16/health/schizophrenia-eight-dis...
- duaneb 11y ago> what we call Schizophrenia is really 8 separate conditions with similar symptoms I don't think we'll be able to say for sure how many different conditions there really "are". There may not even be such a number.
- wpietri 11y agoOh, definitely. Many things have complicated relationships to behavior like that. When I talk to friends with chronic diseases like Celiac's or diabetes, they spend a lot of time thinking about behavior, choices, and responsibility in ways similar to my recovering addict friends. Congrats on being clean 3 years, by the way. That's an enormous accomplishment, especially with something so socially stigmatized as heroin.