At what point does alcoholism and drug addiction becomes a disease?

Question

Ian:

I agree, I think socially people can become addicts. If a child is raised seeing their folks having a great time drinking, having a beer before work and after work, they are going to think that it is okay and that is going to imprint on them. Children are like sponges. Yet if they see the negative of it they will be scared of it.

Answer 1

whenever you rely on it to get by it is a definite problem.best way of prevention is not doing it at all i guess..

Answer 2

Drug addiction is not classified as a disease.  Alcoholism is.  Both become issues when they take over and control your life.

Answer 3

It becomes a disease when the user loses himself/herself to the drug. More often than not the user doesn't understand or want to admit that there is a problem. Denial is more than just a river in Egypt.

As far as labeling it as a "disease"; I agree with you that the initial drink or smoke (etc.) is by choice but some would argue that the gene is also inherited. My family inhabits a large amount of alcoholics...knowing this I stayed away from it as a teenager (and even now as an adult). I'm not sure how true the theory of genetics leading to addiction is but the thought alone is enough to disinterest me.

Answer 4

It becomes a disease when they become a support system. When your sad, mad or anything else and you go to drugs/alcohol for a mood change.

Answer 5

when  the person does it more often  than staying sober.

Answer 6

It is a disease when others notice a problem and when they notice the problem then it is extremely severe. It is a disease because they choose it at first but now it is almost impossible to stop.

Answer 7

When the chemistry and physiology of human body starts to change.

Answer 8

alcoholism is always a disease. ppl dont choose to become an alcoholic ppl choose to drink its when u start to depend on drink and cant stop when u cant go a day with out drinking when its all u can think about and ur life starts to revolve around it that it becomes a serious problem known as alcoholism.

Answer 9

Addiction I think is when your body structure (somthn like that) changes and ur depend on it in your every day life and it starts 2 affect the way you would 'normally' live =P

Answer 10

It becomes a disease when the people abusing themselves want to blame someone else for their condition, hey its not their fault, they have a disease

Answer 11

I think it's when someone needs to use to 'function'.

Answer 12

im not really sure if some of these people are just guessing, or they really think they're right, but a few of these answers are just common misconceptions...

it becomes a disease when it starts CAUSING negative consequences (loss of job, loss of friends, all their money, etc). when it gets to this point and becomes a disease, its no longer your choice nor is it in your hands anymore. You cant stop on your own, because your life is being run by your addictions. most addicts think they are in control which is why a lot of people dont get help (and deny that they have a problem). Usually it takes a major event in your life (maybe an overdose, or a death of someone close to you, just 2 examples) to realize you have a problem, that or some serious intervention from loved ones.

and yes, there is an addiction gene that is passed down that makes it easier to be taken in by it all, but doesnt mean addiction is limited to those with the gene, nor does it mean people that do have addiction in the family will all be addicts

Answer 13

. The child born to a person with an addiction (both mom and  dad) have a great chance of having an addiction as well. These are true diseases, like cancer and others. If the child has the propensity  towards addiction it is easily recognizable. Most addictions are hereditary. Disease are not chosen, treating them is.

Answer 14

it's not a disease, it's more of a psychological problem really.

Answer 15

It is called a 'disease' because it is 'curable' or fixable. The answer is that no the user cannot usually tell it is a problem until long after it really has become one. The time it becomes a problem is when you cannot live without it. For instance...you drink coffee every day, you can chose to stop, drinking and drugs a person has a VERY hard time stopping on their own. Kind of like cigarettes!

Answer 16

i think when they are dependent on it.