I was listening to the radio one morning, and I heard about some guy on some reality television show, whom, like many other reality television personalities, has a supposedly fascinating life story that warranted putting them on television in the first place. I don’t particularly remember, nor care about the specifics about his journey, but I remember the part where he talked about how he was 70 days removed from rehabilitation, and then he said that he was afflicted with a disease: addiction.
It’s a word we use a lot, addiction is. I’m addicted to zombie games, caffeine and tasteless humor. I know people I accuse of being addicted to working out, cougars, and other supposedly menial things. But would I say that myself, or any of these people whom I’ve applied the term “addicted” to, are diseased? Fuck no.
Addiction isn’t a disease, it’s a developed flaw, when a person becomes overly dependent on something. AIDS, hepatitis, cholera, malaria, dysentery – those are fucking diseases. I don’t particularly remember playing Oregon Trail on the elementary school’s Apple IIGSes and seeing any of my wagon trail pioneers dying of addiction.
Saying that addiction is a disease is the equivalent of a weak motherfucker trying to bail themselves out for being weak-willed, and dependent on something they don’t really need. That loser on The X-Factor talking about how he was diseased with addiction is him being a pussy and not admitting that he was simply hooked on crack, blow, weed, alcohol and meth. It was a convenient excuse to why his life was all ruined, and why he had to go to rehab in the first place.
Imagine if a food addict broke into a homeless shelter on Thanksgiving, and ate the entire premises out of all their food. When the cops show up to arrest their fat ass, they would try to say that they’re diseased: with an addiction to food. The cops would laugh their asses off, make fat jokes, and book this fat fuck off to jail.
Imagine if a sex addict had sex with fourteen different women that weren’t his wife, and then when they were ultimately caught, they said that they were diseased. Granted, in this particular circumstance, this would pop many red flags, but once they find out that the claimed disease is nothing but addiction, to sex, someone’s going to go Lorena Bobbitt on someone.
Addiction to anything can be overcome by withdrawal. Don’t indulge in what you’re addicted to for a long enough time, and you will eventually get over it; that’s pretty much rehab clinics are, keep you busy doing so many other things that you can’t indulge in your addictions, until you’re free from them. The same cannot be said about the aforementioned diseases above; real diseases, will not go away with just a little bit of time and distraction.
Saying addiction is a disease is a fucking cop out and lame excuse. Addiction ruining lives is no fault to anyone but those who are addicted to things they developed such strong dependencies on.
