Unfortunately, in our society, there is so much judgment and ignorance when speaking of the term "addiction". Addiction is a condition in which a person becomes hooked and unwillingly dependent on a substance, thing or activity.
Addiction is a disease.
It is a genetic predisposition that haunts families from being passed down from generation to generation. Not everyone is born with addiction in their genes, just like not everyone is born with a predisposition for schizophrenia or cancer genetics.
The reason many people discard addiction as a disease is because they counteract by blaming the victim of the disease because they had made a choice to try substances. Yes, a choice is made to put a substance into our bodies, but no one can control or make a choice to become addicted. That is determined on the DNA in our bodies.
Truthfully, look at our society! Most people experiment with alcohol and drugs. Alcohol itself is used in many social settings and is very much a normalized substance. If we were to judge the individuals of alcoholism on the choice to try, we might as well judge every individual has had a drink in their lifetime. Who's to say they would not be addicted?
We don't know; it's a chance, sadly.
Due to the society we live in, many of us have or will have experiences with addicted individuals in our lives. Perhaps it is not until you have that experience when you realize the way the disease takes over, just like any other disease. Somebody who is addicted would do anything not to be.
To be able to drink and stop? That's their dream that is obstructed due to their genetics.
A person might have made a choice to try a substance, as we all try new things throughout our lives due to human curiosity. But it is not a choice to become addicted. It is a sickness.
Instead of judging and blaming those who are sick, we must look at it from a health perspective and get these sick individuals the help they need.
