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

Posted by joeyjensen1959 @joeyjensen1959, Jan 24 11:21am

Sickness ,disease ,addiction recovery all can be life threatening, it takes time to heal (with addiction, it takes the rest of your life) and it takes work and we need to give and receive help to make it work.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Addiction & Recovery Support Group.

suzy6095 | @suzy6095 | May 18 7:52pm

AA was my go to. Couldn’t of done it without it.

Kelsey, LADC, Moderator | @kelseyt | May 19 8:57pm

Hi @suzy6095, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect!

AA/NA and other community support groups have so many great things to offer!

@suzy6095, what about the AA community was so instrumental for you in your recovery journey?

suzy6095 | @suzy6095 | May 19 10:40pm

I am a member of AA. Continuous sobriety for 21 years only by the grace of god. I had the best sponsor. My suggestion look around the room and see who volunteers to sponsor. You don’t have to pick someone right away. If they have something you want you probably want them as a sponsor.?

trooperdogg1960 | @trooperdogg1960 | Jun 10 8:41pm

In reply to @gailmalloy "@heyjoe415 How do you get a sponsor?" + (show)

@gailmalloy Im not recommending this as its not for everyone, but I decided to become my own sponsor. Since I didnt agree with 12 step programs I went back to my past when I was involved in martial arts and eastern philosophy. Alcohol and drug abuse had me forgetting who I was when I was young and had aspirations of a different life. Back when I told myself I'll never end up like that. Theres a story that takes place in a land that never was but always will be. A story of a warrior who fought in a tournament for the right to seek the Book of Zetan. In this book it was said you would find all the secrets of life. Fighters came from all corners of the known lands for the right to seek Zetan. Only if you won the tournament were you allowed to face three challenges that would be found on the path to Zetan. Every seeker faced different challenges. No one had ever returned as the challenges were thought to have proven fatal. The warrior lost the tournament by disqualification but decided to seek Zetan anyway. The 3 challenges he faced were not just battles but his own weaknesses. With strength and insight he won the challenges and was taken to the Temple of Zetan where the book was laid before him. He opened the book and found each page to be a mirror. His reflection was all he saw. He saw everything. This is based on a parable by Bruce Lee. When I became my own sponsor I told myself what I would tell a person I sponsored. I changed words like cant, to wont. This enabled accountability. You see, everyone can quit alcohol or drugs if they decide. So when we switch the word can't to won't it rephrases I can't quit, to, I wont quit. This enables accountability and you begin to hear the real truth. We begin to realize that it is us, who are in control of our own destiny. It is us who has decided to remain dependent and therefore us who must decide to stop. I replaced the word can to will. No longer did I say I can do this. I said I will do this. This reinforces what is known as human agency. The ability to be the author of our own story and the master of our own destiny. When we seek peace and harmony outside ourselves, we leave it far behind. Many people spend their entire lifetime seeking the secrets of life, when it was there all along right in front of them.

joeyjensen1959 | @joeyjensen1959 | Jun 11 12:17am

In reply to @trooperdogg1960 "@gailmalloy Im not recommending this as its not for everyone, but I decided to become my..." + (show)

@trooperdogg1960

Jump to this post

@trooperdogg1960 I like how this sounds...I will stay clean and sober...
Thank you.
Joseph

trooperdogg1960 | @trooperdogg1960 | Jun 11 9:12am

In reply to @joeyjensen1959 "@trooperdogg1960 I like how this sounds...I will stay clean and sober... Thank you. Joseph" + (show)

@joeyjensen1959 You absolutely will.

liirishrose22 | @liirishrose22 | 6 days ago

It is disease.Very thankful it is

BoneHead | @stsopoci | 4 days ago

I’ve been off alcohol for 30 years coming Oct 13. I went to AA and listened to constant continued falling off alcohol consumption. I felt the need to work on quitting myself with help from a therapist who helped me more than AA could. I’m GAD general anxiety disorder and I was trying to cure myself with drugs and alcohol. They were bad! I got on propranolol and it worked. We are all unique in our physical and mental states so you must look for your special needs and go screaming towards a cure. Good luck working toward this daily job of keeping yourself happy and cured.

heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | 3 days ago

In reply to @suzy6095 "AA was my go to. Couldn’t of done it without it." + (show)

Agreed Suzy. Once I was ready and asked for help, my Dr referred me to one of his patients who had been sober 30 plus years. His name is Bob and he called that night. The next day we went to a meeting, and I've loved AA since.

I did relapse after 4.5 years, for a number of reasons I have since corrected. I had 16 years on May 11.

I'm not tuned into the God/Higher Power aspects of AA. But I found that by working steps 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 12 - I could get and stay sober, and sponsor guys who believed (or not!) as I did.

All the best to you Suzy.

Joe

heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | 3 days ago

In reply to @stsopoci "I’ve been off alcohol for 30 years coming Oct 13. I went to AA and listened..." + (show)

Well said Bonehead. Even as an atheist, I have found AA to be very helpful. As you state, there are many ways to get and stay sober, and a therapist outside of AA is something I've used for over 20 years.

I also sponsor three guys who believe about the same as I do. We work steps 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 12 and are all doing fine.

Thanks BH!

Joe