Continuing to show how sanguine they are about the whole "removed as default thing," users in /r/AdviceAnimals instead fight over whether alcoholism is a choice or a disease. (np.reddit.com)
SubredditDrama
71 ups - 26 downs = 45 votes
71 comments submitted at 15:50:11 on May 8, 2014 by Snowman3221
Technically isn't it a little bit of both? Addiction is a disease but once you figure out you're an addict it's really your choice to seek treatment or not.
Edit: Having the disease of Alcoholism isn't a choice but being an active, drinking alcoholic is.
> Technically isn't it a little bit of both? Cancer is a disease but once you figure out you're a cancer victim it's really your choice to seek treatment or not
Look how dumb you sound
> Technically isn't it a little bit of both? Tuberculosis is a disease but once you figure out you're have tuberculosis it's really your choice to seek treatment or not
Nope doesnt make any more sense...
I feel like this should be a copypasta now....
Have at it friend.
On the contrary, it doesn't sound dumb at all.
Once you figure out you have a disease you have two choices - either do something in an attempt to treat/cure it or do nothing and continue to be a victim of a disease.
You are implying that people who have a disease have no choice in seeking treatment for the disease which is not the case. I could have cancer and make the choice to not seek treatment if I didn't want to be cured of cancer.
Addiction is no different. It's a disease but you have a choice to seek treatment and help or let it destroy you. It's for that reason I really don't have a lot of compassion for alcoholics/addicts that know they have a problem but refuse help.
I'm actually going through that right now with a friend of mine. She knows she has a problem with alcohol but refuses to take responsibility for it and seek help. I've all but cut her out of my life at this point and will continue to do so until she makes the CHOICE to seek treatment.
Yes, it does.
Also, all of your comments around here fucking suck. Are you a troll or just a douchebag? For RES.
> Also, all of your comments around here fucking suck. Are you a troll or just a douchebag?
He believes he's voicing the opinion of people that aren't redditors, the average Joe. So I'd go with him just being an ignorant douchebag. Don't think he's intentionally trolling. Maybe he is, hard to tell anymore.
> Yes, it does.
I disagree. I'm also going to bet that you've never really had to deal with an addict. I have.
My father is a ~30-year addict of heroin and a slew of other drugs. I am an alcoholic myself. I have an excruciatingly intimate knowledge of addiction. Unfortunately. So get fucked, chumly.
I also have some experience with addiction. Not personally but through family and close friends and I can tell you that my comments about the subject are spot on.
Yes, addition is a disease but addicts have a choice. They can seek treatment or not. Just like any other disease.
Being an addict doesn't make you special and being an addict that has made the choice to not get help for their addiction just makes you a loser.
If you're an addict who has been offered help and you turn it down I have no compassion or time for you.
Let me put it this way, if someone is diagnosed with cancer that can be treated giving them a longer and better quality of life and they turn it down then what are they? Are they brave or are they stupid for making the choice to ignore their disease? It's no different with an addict.
Ungh.
It's hard to clear the swamp when you're up to your arse in alligators.
> It's hard to clear the swamp when you're up to your arse in alligators
That's true but there comes a point where you know the situation and at that point it's up to you to take action. You aren't going to cure the disease until you make a choice to do so.
I'm pretty sure that's 12-step 101 right there.
Ultimately I agree, but I suspect when some people think about taking action they fail to take fully into account the mind of an addict, instead approaching it from the mind of a clear headed individual.
Alcoholism hijacks the mesolimbic pathways, a strong driver of behavior, and also interferes with prefrontal function, used to control behaviour. It can also be comorbid with things like depression and other addictions. So it's just not as easy for some to seek treatment and stay sober/clean.
> So it's just not as easy for some to seek treatment and stay sober/clean.
But at the end of the day, you can't be helped until you want to be helped and that's a choice every alcoholic has to make. No one can force them to get sober.
In that respect, having the disease of Alcoholism isn't a choice but being an active alcoholic is.
And you can see how making that choice can be very problematic given what I mentioned right? You seem to be ignoring that part.
I agree, it's not always a easy choice to make but it's still a choice that addicts need to make in order to get better.
Well, I wish the friend you're helping the best of luck. Here's a brief review of some of what I've mentioned if you'd like to gain some insight into this part of alcoholism. Obviously there's a lot more to it than this.
This isn't to suggest that ultimately there must be some personal responsibility, but that it's a painful condition that is deserving of empathy, something that might come in handy considering what will hopefully be your friends recovery.
I feel empathy for the situation, it's just really frustrating.
The friend has been through this before. She knows what she's gotta do and she knows her life will be better. It's just getting her to make that choice and get better.
Today on reddit.com, people who've never been through a 12-step program speculate upon what a 12-step program entails.
Clearly you know nothing about me.
Come on SRD lets make a list!
Correct, I'm a conservative black man who doesn't care about rape victims or victims of any crime. I also have strong opinions on many issues and I'm not shy about letting them be known.
and updated!
What happens when people point out that your strong opinions are usually retarded?
updated!
My opinions are my own. I feel like sharing them. From there, you can do what you wish with them.
I don't shit in someone's lawn just because I feel the urge to take a dump.
Where did I claim to know anything about anything?
>Where did I claim to know anything about anything?
Clearly you don't.
zing
You must be a hit at parties.
No, I'm just saying that it's pretty clear you know nothing about 12 step programs, of which a central principle is that you can't help an addict until they are ready, which is effectively saying that they have to make a CHOICE to remain an addict or not.
> I'm just saying that it's pretty clear you know nothing about 12 step programs
And I can say the same for you.
So why don't we call it a draw and I'll go back to what I was doing and you can go back to what you were doing and we can get on with life.
Or was this that important for you?