The Great Disease Debate

Let's play a game of "Is It a Disease?" You can't catch cancer by going to a cancer party. You can't get diabetes by hanging out with diabetic friends. But you can absolutely develop alcoholism by... well, you know the drill.

Here's the thing about diseases: they typically don't come with a user manual that says "Step 1: Open bottle. Step 2: Drink contents. Step 3: Repeat until diseased." Yet somehow, we've convinced ourselves that addiction is just like catching the flu - if the flu came with a happy hour special.

The Choice Paradox

Think about the first time you drank. Was it forced upon you by a virus? Did you catch it from a sneeze? Or did you make a conscious decision to pick up that drink? (Spoiler alert: if it was the first two, you might want to see a doctor about that.)

The uncomfortable truth is that addiction starts with a choice. It might not feel like a choice later, but that first drink? That was all you, baby. It's like saying you caught the "shopping disease" after willingly walking into a mall - sure, it might feel out of control later, but let's not pretend you didn't choose to go in.

The "But My Brain Chemistry!" Defense

Yes, alcohol changes your brain chemistry. So does falling in love. So does eating chocolate. So does watching cat videos. Should we start calling these "diseases" too?

The brain is designed to change in response to experiences - it's called neuroplasticity, and it's what makes us human. But just because something changes your brain doesn't automatically make it a disease. Otherwise, we'd all be walking around with the "Netflix binge-watching disease."

The Recovery Choice

Here's where it gets really interesting: if addiction is truly a disease like diabetes or cancer, then why does it respond to... choices? When was the last time someone cured their cancer by deciding not to have it anymore?

Yet people recover from addiction every day by making different choices. They choose to stop drinking. They choose to change their environment. They choose to develop new habits. It's almost as if... personal agency plays a role here.

The "Disease Model" Industry

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the recovery industry. If addiction is a disease, then treatment centers are hospitals, right? Except most hospitals don't charge $30,000 a month and don't have a 70% relapse rate.

It's almost as if calling it a "disease" creates a perpetual need for "treatment." How convenient for the treatment industry that the "disease" never really goes away, even when you stop doing the thing that caused it.

The Responsibility Factor

Here's a radical idea: maybe taking responsibility for your choices is actually empowering. Maybe acknowledging that you made decisions that led to addiction doesn't make you a bad person - it makes you a human being capable of making different decisions.

It's like saying "I chose to eat that entire pizza" instead of "I have the pizza-eating disease." One statement gives you power to change; the other makes you a passive victim of your own actions.

The "But Genetics!" Argument

Yes, some people are more predisposed to addiction than others. Some people are also more predisposed to sunburn. Does that mean getting a sunburn is a disease? Or does it mean you should maybe wear sunscreen?

Genetic predisposition isn't destiny. It's information. It's like knowing your family has a history of heart disease - it doesn't mean you're doomed, it means you might want to make different choices about your lifestyle.

The Power of Choice in Recovery

Here's the beautiful thing about choice: it means you have power. If addiction is a choice, then recovery is also a choice. Every day, every moment, you get to choose differently.

That's actually pretty empowering when you think about it. It means you're not a passive victim of some mysterious "disease" - you're an active participant in your own recovery. You're not broken; you're just someone who made some choices and can make different ones.

The "But It's Hard!" Reality

Of course changing is hard. So is learning to play the piano. So is running a marathon. So is learning a new language. We don't call those things "diseases" just because they're difficult.

Hard doesn't equal disease. Hard equals... hard. It's like saying "I have the exercise disease" because going to the gym is difficult. No, going to the gym is just difficult. Some things in life are hard - that doesn't make them diseases.

The Path Forward: Own Your Choices

Here's the thing: whether you call it a disease or a choice, the path to recovery is the same. You have to make different choices. You have to change your behavior. You have to take responsibility for your life.

Maybe instead of focusing on what to call it, we should focus on what to do about it. Maybe instead of debating whether it's a disease, we should be talking about how to make better choices.

Because at the end of the day, labels don't matter nearly as much as actions. And the most powerful action you can take is the choice to change.