Habili-blog 1/26/18 Just say NO by Jared Mayes
Is addiction disease or choice? I remember in third grade we got ushered into the gymnasium, where a man dressed in a Crime Dog McGruff outfit was prompting us to, “Take a bite out of crime.” There was also a magician performing tricks. One in particular being burning a 20 dollar bill, and then miraculously making it reappear. As a 10 year old prepubescent little boy those are the key points that stuck out to me. I imagine there were probably statistics crammed into our little brains about the effects of drugs, and tips on how to “Just say No!” Fast forward nearly 20 years later, and I think me being a resident of Habilitat’s long term substance abuse and vocational training program, tells me that I didn’t get much out of that assembly other than a few oohs and ahs from the magician. There’s obviously an age old battle of whether addiction is a disease or a choice. Being that a disease implies that it is irreversible without treatment, I think we can rule that one out. I have known people who have gotten sober without going to rehab. So, what about the rest of us addicts who have tried multiple programs, counseling, religion and all the other forms of rehabilitation. Let’s look at choices; rational and conscious thoughts. We must first take a deeper look at what addiction does to the brain. Drugs create a chemical imbalance in the brain. In other words it’s similar to putting regular gasoline into a diesel vehicle and expecting it to run well. There’s two kinds of thought processes, deliberate and impulsive. Addicts who can simply put down the needle or the pipe, have the ability to use deliberate thought to see consequences and apply critical thinking to see what could go wrong, or what the outcome might be. There comes a point where an addict is no longer able to apply deliberate thinking and all rational goes out the window. It becomes impulsive, and at this point it’s a matter of, “The needle is empty, time to get more.” Instant gratification becomes a life style and all inhibitions, morals, and values fly out the window. Recovery is about slowing down and rebalancing your thought processes. Addiction is like a heavy set kid on a see-saw and our common sense is left dangling its little legs up in the air trying to even out its side. Long term treatment is required to reintroduce us to that little voice in our head that’s been screaming at us for years, but was muffled by the earplugs of addiction. It’s about learning to make healthier choices and taking the time to think about something, plan what you want to do, evaluate if that is the best decision, and finally, making a plan to execute it. Once you walk through the gates of Habilitat, your drug use stops. It’s no longer the issue. You then have 24-30 months to figure out exactly what it was that made you decide to start using drugs in the first place, and subtract impulsiveness out of the equation that is, your thought process. This program is definitely not a walk in the park, but after completing our program you will have gained the ability to take a walk in the park without looking around for the dope man.
Source: https://www.thefix.com/addiction-disease-or-choice