Friday, February 13, 2009
Back to the Blog!
I thought that our discussion on addiction Thursday was fascinating and deserved more time. So... here's your chance to continue talking about it! (For those who missed it, we looked at the disease notion of addiction, whether one can be "cured" of an addiction, if our society is truly addicted to money, etc.).
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I think to a certain extent we all are addicts.Whether it be to food, money, shopping or what have you. We all phene at times for certain things in life. Just because someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol. We categorize that into different perspectives, assuming that and addiction like that is unhealthy and uncureable. But in essence if that was the case we all would be uncureable, in some form or fashion. I think the way society put labels on things, has a lot to do on home someone views a situation. Prime example the internet and cell phones. Society are like coacaine addicts,when it comes to the net or their phone. These technical devices have taken over our lives. If we were to go one day, with out our lap tops or cell phones,we would feel ill. So in essence one may believe and addiction can not be could. But I believe otherwise, it's up to the individual to reach out for help, and accept that they have a problem that needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteI DO BELIEVE AT SOME POINT IN LIFE EVERYONE IS ADDICTED TO SOMEONE (YES) OR SOMETHING WHETHER IT'S LOVE,SEX MONEY,CLOTHES, CARS,SHOES,DRUGS OR ALCOHOL,ETC... I BELIEVE ITS HOW DEEP WITHIN TH ADDICTION THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET CURED....I ALSO BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO WANT TO GET HELP RATHER SOMEONE TELLING THEM THEY NEED TO GET HELP...A PERSON MAY ATTEMP TO GET HELP BECAUSE SOMEONE WANTS TO BUT MAY GO BACK TO THEIR OLD HABITS BECAUSE THEY WERENT READY
ReplyDeleteTO CHANGE....EX A MAN MAY BE ADDICT TO SEX and continue to cheat on his woman, the man would cont if he isnt ready to stop he would only tell his woman he hasnt to make her feel better...just like shopping we dont know when to stop and think that just because we spending money on somone else its not that bad when in fact we're still spending
IN OUR SOCIETY WE ARE ALL ADDICTED TO SOMETHING WEATHER ITS MONEY,DRUGS OR FOR ME SHOPPING..I TRULY BELIEVE THAT ANYBODY CAN BE CURED FROM ANYTHING, TO SAY AN ADDICTION CANT BE CURABLE IS SAYING THE ADDICTIONS DOESN'T EXIST . WE DO LIVE IN A SOCIETY WHERE SOME FEEL THEY CANT BE HELP WITH THERE ADDICTION BUT THOSE ARE THE INDIVIDUALS WHO DON'T WANT TO BE HELP OR TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO SEEK HELP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE AN ADDICTION.
ReplyDeleteI concur,for everyone has an addiction to something at sometime. Personally, I'm a shoppaholic. Yes I know, all women enjoy shopping, but when it becomes the driving force in your life, you have some serious issues w/it! I would spend days shopping, feeling that it was therapeutic in dealing w/my depression. Wrong, the depression, I learned was feeding off my insane "need" to shop, which only became worse when i had to return the items, as I could not afford them anyway!! I found this out in treatment ya'll! You see, I'm not ashamed to reveal that side of me, and we as a people, black, are often in denial when it deals w. mental health issues!! "I NOT CRAZY' is the first thing shouted, I find this even w/in my own family, and no, I'm not crazy either, instead, I'm smart enough to realize that there was a issues that I could not control and sought medical attention. Most addicts have an underlying mental health issue, which only gets worse, by denying it and not seeking treatment. Be good to yourselves!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone thus far, that all of us are addicted to something, at some point in our lives. I also think that it is more or less a mind thing, a persons mind telling them they need more or they cannot go on if they do not have, whatever they are addicted too. I feel like everyone is addicted to something whether it is drugs, sex, money, etc. The question is can a person be cured? I think that being cured from an addiction can go either way. In order to be cured in my opinion, you have to be willing to let go and make changes in your environment. You will have to want to change and be willing to fight the urge and cravings, which I think will be very hard if you do not have will power. On the other hand a person can go through all the therapy or protocol to help themselves be cured, but if they put themselves back in that same environment and do not make the proper changes then it will be very difficult to be cured, from an addiction.
ReplyDeleteI agree with mostly everything that has been said so far. However, I do not believe that addiction is curable. My father is an addict, and he has been "clean" for over twenty years now and he is now a Reverend. He says, addiction is a disease in which you cannot be cured. As an addict he can never have one social drink, he cannot put his cup down and leave it anywhere that has alcohol present. This is not because he can't control his behavior. He cannot contol the disease. He says, if he were to have even one sip of alcohol, his whole life could spiral out of control. Again, I strongly agree that we are all addicts...and addicted to something, however, the point where it becomes a disease and starts to ruin every facet of your life does it become fatal.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that any addiction is not really curable. Even if the addiction is drugs, money, or even sex, its nothin really you can do to cure them fully. How do you help a person addicted to these things? by putting them in a health institution telling them that this is the only way to get better and that whatever they are addicted to is wrong? Idont think thats right about every situation. It may help a drug addict but a money and sex addict? If they not doing anything illegal for their adiction, and they not seeking help, I dont see anything wrong wit being addicted to sex or money.
ReplyDeleteEvery addiction is different,first a person has to figure out the underlining problem that is causing a persons addiction. A person who has never done drugs won't know the craving, until they try it, why do they try it,especially if they know it is addictive? Most people on drugs have issues that they are trying to cover, or mask by using drugs. I is easier to hide a problem then face it head on. Our society stigmatizes (is that a word) people causing them to go into hiding so to speak,as Watson was saying, it isn't cool to say you are seeing a therapist. It really takes guts to take that step. Once the brain is clouded by the smoke, it takes alot to clear the mind to want to get past the drugs and seek help. I know some one who had an addiction for years to sleeping pills,and weed,but never realized she had an addiction because she still handled her buisness. Because it did not affect her everyday life it wasn't a problem. That's called a "functioning addict" you do what is normal, go to work, pay bills, and is the average joe,but the underlined problem was she wasn't happy with herself. Until she was happy with herself she still did the actions. Who actually knows what an addiction is? my craving to chocolate covered Keebler cookies can be called an addiction,but is it really, or a bad habit?
ReplyDeleteIn my opion I dont think an addiction is curable. A person may go through a process that can help them limit that addiction but at the end of the day the threat af the addiction will still remain.Once a persobn has received help and been placed back in his or her natural environment the desire of the addiction may become stronger thn ever due to the fact that whatever caused the addiction is still at their disposal. Most people are addicted to something but may not realize it because they just see it as being apart of their everyday life. The word addiction is closely related to drugs and alcohol. But in some cases a person can be addicted to money, sex, or food.I just think society labels something as an addiction depending on what that person has an addiction to.
ReplyDeleteI agree to a distinct extent, with the aforementioned saying that people have an addiction some way or another. Is it an addiction if you can control your desires? Is it an addiction when you indulge your desires with restraint? To argue donchelle's point of how deep someone's addiction might be. If an alcohlic of twenty years just got rehabilitated, do you think if you put him or her in the same room with other drinkers they would fall off the wagon?
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to self control? I would consider substance abuse or alcoholism on a totally different level than less dangerous addictions. I don't believe substance dependence of any type is curable. Once you are an addict you are an addict, many of whom attend Al-Anon or Narc-Anon for life. They may be clean for years but that diagnosis follows them through their life and impacts their medical treatment. Plus the relapse rate is high in these cases just watch Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and the amount of times Jeff has been in and out of there. As far as being addicted to shopping, sex, etc...don't you all really think those type of things could be controlled if the individual just had the desire to control themselves?
ReplyDeleteDenise, you have a great point! What ever happened to self control? What ever happened to people wanting to do whats good for them and there health? I am focus on the reason why people tend to relapse, is it because of self control or peer control? The people you hang around can either incourage you for postive things or vise versa. Which one is stronger...peer control or self control?
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your comments denise, snoop, and nnambi. The point where you become an addict is where you cannot contol yourself. You cannot control the strong urge to continue the addiction. Like Nnambi said if you put a person that is recently recovering from an addiction in the same room with what they are addicted to, then the chances of them relapsing is high.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments everyone had to say. Addiction is something that a lot of people have, and need help with. Like Nnamdi pointing out about addicts, being put into and enviroment conducive to their addiction. Which becomes tempation that one can't resist. In some cases peer-pressure also plays part to if a person gives into their addiction. Shawna Mason said it best in her comments. What is it that one should have self control or peer control. To answer her question, I find self control to be more vital than peer control. If one was to have self control, they would be able to flight their addiction instead of fight it.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different kinds of addiction we all have. i agree with with some of the bloggers about how at some point we all are addicts. In our society today when we hear the word addict, we already assume drugs and alcohal. It could sex, money, teaching, fighting, eating, etc. as far as being cured, it depends om what you are addicted to. if you ask me can you be cured of an addiction i would say yes and know. cause right now i am addicted to money and money is an addiction you NEED! Other than that, right now i am addicted to BO-berry biscuits from bojangles. Can i stop eating Bo-berry biscuits yeah. I dont need meds for that, i just have to be self willing and stop. As you can see there are many different kinds of addictions and some you can cure and some you cant.
ReplyDeleteCandace, is addiction psychological, or a conscious choice? He as well as other addicts/recoverying or not, know the reprocussions of the drug, or drink, so do they consciously make the decision to continue the negative behavior? Can a person with an addiction be in the same atmosphere and control their habits? If a person can control their habits on an everyday level, going somewhere not conducive to thier recovery, why can't they control themselves? Not down playing your fathers situation, but i think some people make the decision to do the drug, or take the drink. A disease according to webster is an illness,so are we categorizing alcoholism,and drug abuse in the same category as a cold, or cancer?
ReplyDeleteCrystal, in response to your questions and comments, I am a little confused. Conscious and sub-conscious thoughts are psychological, because it deals with the mind. In regards to my father, I said that he cannot consume alcohol or drugs either voluntarily nor involuntarily. If someone spiked his drink, or he drank someone else's by accident, his recovery would be compromised. Yes, I believe that an addict can be in the same room as the source of their addiction and still be able to control their behavior. However, a person who is recently recovering from an addiction is more likely to relapse in my opinion if placed back in the same environment. My father claims that he will always be a recovering addict because he can never drink socially like other people. He cannot drink one sip of wine or some types of cough syrups. I also believe that addiction is a illness, a mental illness, unlike a cold or cancer because it is mental not medical Addiction becomes an illness when your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being is threatened. Even for functioning addicts, there is some area of their life that isn't functioning and they need to seek treatment. I think if people could simply "control themselves" then addiction would not exist. The disease of addiction is due to a combination of biological (hereditary traits), psychological, and sociological problems that will affect a person's ability to "control" oneself.
ReplyDeletei think people can be cured of addiction, but as soon as they come into contact with what they were addicted to its a strong chance that they will have a relapse. The reason why i say it can be cured is because there are places where people can go to get help for whatever they are addicted to, and while getting help they are taught and trained on ways to keep from going back to the addiction. I also think that our society is addicted to money, and i say that because people will do just about anything to have money. If the society wasn't addicted to money then why do we have bank robberys, people gambling money to get more money, and people hurting other people just to get money to provide for their families. So with that said i do think that addiction can be cured but the question is for how long, and i do think our society is addicted to money, because without money what would a person use to make a living, i know im addicted to money.
ReplyDeleteHi,my name is Denise and I am an addict...........
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's comments but I can only speak from personal experience. I don't think that an addiction can be cured. Treated yes,cured which would mean no way possible to occur again....no.
I am addicted to Tea! Hot Tea,Cold Tea,Lipton Green Tea,Lipton Tea with Lemon,McDonald's sweet tea....you name it I want it. I cant start my day at work without a cup of hot tea. If I don't have it I don't feel the same. I have tried to stop but every time I run out and go into a grocery store, it's a rap! Yes, caffeine is a hell of a drug!!! So can I be cured? I know all addictions are different but I think it's a matter of personal choice, will-power and determination. I don't think any professional can tell me what I need to do stop when it's as simple as stop purchasing the product. But what about that craving???
I think society is addicted to money b/c it's what makes the world go round. Those that don't have it want it and those who have it want more....
What makes one person in the same family have addictive mannerisms, and not another? If it is biological then does the addiction skip from one person to another , or one generation to another? Think like this, if my mother was an alcoholic,am i going to be an alcoholic? What are the chance one of her offspring will be an alcoholic? I personally think if a person sees the destruction of addiction,why would they consciously try a drug, or drink accessively?
ReplyDeleteI dont think an addiction is curable. My reasoning for this statement is that when you get over an addictiction there is a chance that you can relapse. My definition of a cure is when you get rid of an illness and theres no chance of it comming out of remission. Perfect example of an addiction a "Shopoholic" they go into a store and spend pretty much all of there money and before you know it the rent isnt paid or the lights are off in the house, so then they go to get help the are temporally cured until they see that they just cant resist and spend up all there money again if they were cured they would not do it again.
ReplyDeleteDenise that's the same with me i'm addiced to ginger ale...it's crazy after having my little one (she's 20 months NOW) IT SEEMS AS IF I CANT GO A DAY WITHOUT GINGER ALE...IF I RUN OUT IM BEGGING MY BOYFRIEND TO GO TO THE STORE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT JUST TO GO GET SOME...IT SEEMS AS IF I DNT FUNCTION CORRECTLY IF I DNT HAVE IT...I FIND MYSELF GETTING UP AND 3 AND 4 IN THE MORNING ALMOST SLEEP WALKING TO GET SOME GINGER ALE...I TRY TO TAKE BACK AWAY FROM IT BECAUSE I DRINK GINGER ALE AS IF ITS WATER....I WENT CRAZY...IT SEEMED AS IF I WASNT MYSELF THEM DAYS I WENT WITHOUT GINGER ALE... i DNT THINK AN ADDICTION CAN BE CURED BECAUSE ITS ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT TEMP THAT PERSON TO DO IT AGAIN I DO BELIEVE AN ADDICT CAN BE TREATED...ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE...I BELIEVE MOST ADDICTS TRY TO SIKE THERESELF INTO TELLING THEIR SELF THEY DONT NEED WHATEVER IT IS..BUT THEY HAVE TO HAVE THE POWER TO CONTROLL THEIR ACTIONS...
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone in society has some form of addiction.....there are things that some people cant get threw their day without doing or having....drugs and alcohol are the norm when it comes to addiction but what about some one who reads constantly.....that would be addicted to reading but it dont seems as bad because there is nothing wrong with reading all the time right.....society places a tag on whats a good or bad addiction.....addictions to me cant be cured it can only be treated.....i have a aunt who is a recovering crack addict.....no she nor i believe that she is cured all of a sudden because she still says the urge is still there to smoke crack but it is her new inner strength that keeps here from going back due to great treatment.....so i think addiction can not be cured.
ReplyDeletebecause the greed of money, addiction will alway be inexistence. In one way or another there will always be something that will attract certain people, causing them to be addicted. Then you ask your self? If I owned a company that sold people a product that would make them addicted to the point of harming the individual or may even lead to death, but off this same product that is killing and harming people I was making billions and because of there addiction it brings them back time after time to purchase the item. Would i stop selling my product because it is harming people or would i look at it as, their resposible for there own actions im not forcing no one by the arm to by my product and im going to keep getting my money. To be honest if i was the one that was the owner of the product i would NOT stop for someone that can not control their urges. Even with the understanding that there is something in the item that is scientifically tested stating that theres something in it causing them to want it. Even knowing that I would still continue my product. To make up for the addiction i would start intervention programs to help the ones that are so far into additied to it that it is destroying their families and lives. I know that is being a hipacrit but to be honest i would have to survive like everyone else. i look at it as if I was more of a lucky achiever.....
ReplyDeletei agree with DONCHELLE FLORENCE, it doesnt matter what kind of addiction even when it is SHOPPING huh CHELLE it still is addiction. I believe i have a friend that i love dearly but she spends every dollar she owns even if its not for her she will buy for someone else... but sin is sin no matter what kind of sin its still equal and addiction is addiction no matter what kind its still addiction. lol
ReplyDeleteI think that all people have some type of addiction. Some are addicted to women, cars, and money. My question is at what point does a person addiction become a social or person problem? At what point could we call a person addicted? There are many questions one could raise but there are few answers one can give. Maybe a person just like doing whatever we as society deem as a social problem or addiction.
ReplyDeleteMichael Grant
I agree with everyone when they say that everyone is addicted to something. Like Watson I love to shop. I am in the process of having a house built and I have being buying stuff like every weekend. The only thing is with my shopping addiction I know when to stop I know that I cannot spend my last dollar when I have other bills to pay. A person that does have an addiction can only be helped if they want to be. If one does not possess any self control than the addiction will be hard to stop.
ReplyDelete