Is drug and alcohol addiction just a bad habit? Or is it a disease?

Hi @slarson14

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. An addict can indeed become addicted to almost everything. I'm a recovering alcoholic, 15 plus years now, and have been addicted to a lot of what seem like strange things. For a while I was addicted to relationships. I thought it was all about love. It wasn't and each relationship ended badly, save one.

I think having an addiction related to food (bulimia, anorexia, compulsive overeating) is so extremely difficult as opposed to alcohol or drug abuse. We can do without alcohol completely and even many drugs. But food? We have to eat.

So I can't imagine the struggles you've had with that. I'd love to hear more about how you deal with this.

Thanks so much!

Joe

Not to trivialize or befuddle the debate over whether alcohol and drug addiction are diseases or just weaknesses of character:

I am an addict. I am addicted to FOOD. I wake up thinking about food, I go to bed thinking about food, I have to RESIST food every day and minute of my life!

Is it a disease? No.

Our brains have pleasure centers which if we do not resist feeding that "pleasure" center, we become "addicted" to whatever trips that trigger the most.

I HAVE to control my desires for that trigger, mine being FOOD. I could just as easily do wine and liquor as I love both, too....and if I even tried cocaine, or took too much oxycontin I fear I would ALSO get addicted to such a pleasure because I have tried both (cocaine just a taste back in the 70s to see if it really would make my tongue numb - and it did of course) .

SO: if we don't control our impulses to feed the pleasure centers - we can get addicted to anything. Food, drugs, alcohol, sex...

And when the addiction takes over it will kill us in some way, shape or form.

I feel compassion for those who haven't the fortitude to say "no" or "that is enough". and yes, I think there are genetic propensities to find an addictive substance addictive, but we also have genetic propensities for everything to include being strong of mind enough to say "no" to addiction.

If we do not say "no" we end up in the ditch of life.

Mother Nature sorts us all out that way....to find the strongest.

Hi @slarson14

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. An addict can indeed become addicted to almost everything. I'm a recovering alcoholic, 15 plus years now, and have been addicted to a lot of what seem like strange things. For a while I was addicted to relationships. I thought it was all about love. It wasn't and each relationship ended badly, save one.

I think having an addiction related to food (bulimia, anorexia, compulsive overeating) is so extremely difficult as opposed to alcohol or drug abuse. We can do without alcohol completely and even many drugs. But food? We have to eat.

So I can't imagine the struggles you've had with that. I'd love to hear more about how you deal with this.

Thanks so much!

Joe

@heyjoe415 What I do is stay very structured in what I buy to eat and I keep anything "fun" to eat out of my life, including margaritas, wine, beer.

I also do not watch television with commercials. The power of suggestion is real and every time I see food, the desire is overwhelming.

I am beginning, yet again, with a new "try" and this is a whole new concept. Thinking of food as nutrition and simply a need and not a "pleasure" or social event.

I also have to keep a food diary because my brain does not stop at "enough" to keep my body going. My brain and the pleasure center for food is not my friend.

I also exercise daily.

Overeating is as devastating as over drinking or over drugging: it absolutely wreaks havoc on the human body as none of those was ever meant to be "for pleasure".

Food specifically has a purpose: to keep us alive, not keep us "happy".

@heyjoe415 When I read this, I thought about Bill W. and his piece of Emotional Sobriety. I figure you have seen it as you have been around and sober for so long and I am so happy about that. It helps, as you have said, to know the story of others. If you have not seen that piece by Bill W. you can google it or I can share it. I hope today is good.

Hi there @slarson14,

Wow, I am in awe of the self discipline you have developed in the face of your eating disorder. As a recovering alcoholic, well I had it easier - just stop drinking and get help, and don't start drinking again. OK it wasn't an easy process, but at least I knew total abstinence was required. Can't say that about food.

It's a shame that you can't treat food as pleasurable AND necessary. But you have an addict personality, and as I mentioned, we with this condition can get addicted to anything, and we do.

(Near the bitter end of my drinking, alcohol had ceased being pleasurable. With one exception. I loved the taste of Bombay Sapphire gin martinis. I still miss it. But to paraphrase you, the things we don't need must be put behind us. Even so, every time I step in a restaurant with a bar, my eyes go instantly to the pale blue bottle of Bombay Sapphire among the hundreds of bottles on the wall. I miss it for sure, but not as much as I would miss my sobriety.)

Very few overeaters even realize they have a problem, just like many alcoholics and drug addicts. So you and I are lucky to have recognized and stopped our disease in its tracks, sought out help, and then worked very hard, and continue to work very hard, to stay sober and healthy. And while "sobriety" is a word usually associated with alcohol or drugs, it applies to your situation as well.

So congratulations on your sobriety! I believe that what you have done is much harder than quitting drinking. We need to eat. We don't need to drink alcohol.

For what it's worth - I'm very proud of you and find your story inspiring to me and my road of sobriety. WELL DONE!

Are you a part of any recovery groups? Or rather, is there a way for you to share your story with another overeater? I sponsor three other men, and it helps me and them equally. And of course participating in these Mayo Forums is a way to help others. Good for you!

All the best to you, friend!

Joe

Hi Ginny,

Can you please send me a link to the comments by Bill W. And yes, physical sobriety comes first, and emotional sobriety develops over time. In my case, even at 15 plus years, I learn something every day that helps with my emotional sobriety.

Much appreciated Ginny!

Joe

Not to trivialize or befuddle the debate over whether alcohol and drug addiction are diseases or just weaknesses of character:

I am an addict. I am addicted to FOOD. I wake up thinking about food, I go to bed thinking about food, I have to RESIST food every day and minute of my life!

Is it a disease? No.

Our brains have pleasure centers which if we do not resist feeding that "pleasure" center, we become "addicted" to whatever trips that trigger the most.

I HAVE to control my desires for that trigger, mine being FOOD. I could just as easily do wine and liquor as I love both, too....and if I even tried cocaine, or took too much oxycontin I fear I would ALSO get addicted to such a pleasure because I have tried both (cocaine just a taste back in the 70s to see if it really would make my tongue numb - and it did of course) .

SO: if we don't control our impulses to feed the pleasure centers - we can get addicted to anything. Food, drugs, alcohol, sex...

And when the addiction takes over it will kill us in some way, shape or form.

I feel compassion for those who haven't the fortitude to say "no" or "that is enough". and yes, I think there are genetic propensities to find an addictive substance addictive, but we also have genetic propensities for everything to include being strong of mind enough to say "no" to addiction.

If we do not say "no" we end up in the ditch of life.

Mother Nature sorts us all out that way....to find the strongest.

Not to trivialize or befuddle the debate over whether alcohol and drug addiction are diseases or just weaknesses of character:

I am an addict. I am addicted to FOOD. I wake up thinking about food, I go to bed thinking about food, I have to RESIST food every day and minute of my life!

Is it a disease? No.

Our brains have pleasure centers which if we do not resist feeding that "pleasure" center, we become "addicted" to whatever trips that trigger the most.

I HAVE to control my desires for that trigger, mine being FOOD. I could just as easily do wine and liquor as I love both, too....and if I even tried cocaine, or took too much oxycontin I fear I would ALSO get addicted to such a pleasure because I have tried both (cocaine just a taste back in the 70s to see if it really would make my tongue numb - and it did of course) .

SO: if we don't control our impulses to feed the pleasure centers - we can get addicted to anything. Food, drugs, alcohol, sex...

And when the addiction takes over it will kill us in some way, shape or form.

I feel compassion for those who haven't the fortitude to say "no" or "that is enough". and yes, I think there are genetic propensities to find an addictive substance addictive, but we also have genetic propensities for everything to include being strong of mind enough to say "no" to addiction.

If we do not say "no" we end up in the ditch of life.

Mother Nature sorts us all out that way....to find the strongest.

Not to trivialize or befuddle the debate over whether alcohol and drug addiction are diseases or just weaknesses of character:

I am an addict. I am addicted to FOOD. I wake up thinking about food, I go to bed thinking about food, I have to RESIST food every day and minute of my life!

Is it a disease? No.

Our brains have pleasure centers which if we do not resist feeding that "pleasure" center, we become "addicted" to whatever trips that trigger the most.

I HAVE to control my desires for that trigger, mine being FOOD. I could just as easily do wine and liquor as I love both, too....and if I even tried cocaine, or took too much oxycontin I fear I would ALSO get addicted to such a pleasure because I have tried both (cocaine just a taste back in the 70s to see if it really would make my tongue numb - and it did of course) .

SO: if we don't control our impulses to feed the pleasure centers - we can get addicted to anything. Food, drugs, alcohol, sex...

And when the addiction takes over it will kill us in some way, shape or form.

I feel compassion for those who haven't the fortitude to say "no" or "that is enough". and yes, I think there are genetic propensities to find an addictive substance addictive, but we also have genetic propensities for everything to include being strong of mind enough to say "no" to addiction.

If we do not say "no" we end up in the ditch of life.

Mother Nature sorts us all out that way....to find the strongest.