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I am Coca Cola and coffee user. I am not addicted. That is, until I try to leave it for a while and then even if I succeed it still takes a lot of willpower. A

I am Coca Cola and coffee user. I am not addicted. That is, until I try to leave it for a while and then even if I succeed it still takes a lot of willpower. Addiction is a force that counteracts your will power. You may not have drug problem but you are an addict if you feel compulsion to use the drug. Today you may have enough willpower to counteract that force to consume more alcohol or drugs. But the next day may be worse, you may find some family or work problem and your will power may decrease enough that you will run into drug problem and have really hard time getting rid of it if at all. It is called slippery slope for a reason.

Etheryte 6y ago
I'm not entirely sure if I follow the narrative here, perhaps you can clarify what you mean. Occasionally I have a beer, either socially or to try out a new beer — does this make me an addict? I would argue no, this alone is not a good definition. I don't have a better definition myself, and surely this is a subject many people have put a lot of effort into figuring out, but I don't think this approach has merit.
- lmilcin 6y ago
  It is up to you. People have different levels of willpower regarding different things. Don't dismiss power of addiction just because you "don't have a problem now". Our willpower levels change so what isn't a problem now may become another day. You may loose your job and have hard time finding new one and try to use something that has been giving you comfort to lighten your day. And because your "bigger" worries you may not be paying attention to it or you may need that extra comfort so much you will just say "yeah, it will not hurt if I do this for a while". This is frequently how these things start. It doesn't happen that you are completely normal one day and die hard alcoholic or drug user the next. Now, I wouldn't call what you described even remotely close to a problem. I also consume alcohol socially and even privately. I pay attention to whether I "crave" alcohol and when this happened I cut it instantly. I have a test for this. Even if you don't drink alcohol, are you constantly thinking about it? If you are not using but constantly thinking about it it means there exists a force (addiction) that you are currently able to overcome.
- nicoburns 6y ago
  I think their key point was that you don't ever really know if you're an addict until you try to stop for a prolonged period.

Etheryte 6y ago

I'm not entirely sure if I follow the narrative here, perhaps you can clarify what you mean. Occasionally I have a beer, either socially or to try out a new beer — does this make me an addict? I would argue no, this alone is not a good definition. I don't have a better definition myself, and surely this is a subject many people have put a lot of effort into figuring out, but I don't think this approach has merit.

lmilcin 6y ago
It is up to you. People have different levels of willpower regarding different things. Don't dismiss power of addiction just because you "don't have a problem now". Our willpower levels change so what isn't a problem now may become another day. You may loose your job and have hard time finding new one and try to use something that has been giving you comfort to lighten your day. And because your "bigger" worries you may not be paying attention to it or you may need that extra comfort so much you will just say "yeah, it will not hurt if I do this for a while". This is frequently how these things start. It doesn't happen that you are completely normal one day and die hard alcoholic or drug user the next. Now, I wouldn't call what you described even remotely close to a problem. I also consume alcohol socially and even privately. I pay attention to whether I "crave" alcohol and when this happened I cut it instantly. I have a test for this. Even if you don't drink alcohol, are you constantly thinking about it? If you are not using but constantly thinking about it it means there exists a force (addiction) that you are currently able to overcome.
nicoburns 6y ago
I think their key point was that you don't ever really know if you're an addict until you try to stop for a prolonged period.