Disease = 1. Affected organ, 2. Damage to that organ and processes associated with it, and 3. Symptoms. Addiction meets this criteria. Normal development and love do not - the brain isn't damaged or pathologically changed with these. What's the problem with calling addiction a disease of "learning" (neural plasticity) and addressing it with psychosocial, medical, and whatever else work?
mbrunner13 The problem with the disease model is inherent in the definition. The disease model tells us that addiction is a chronically-relapsing brain disease. While it does (marginally) reduce stigma upon the person struggling with addictive behaviors, it also places a sense of helplessness upon the subject, often reminding the person that his or her "disease" is "in the parking lot doing push-ups," or other such harmful platitudes. Rather than acknowledging that addictive behaviors are the natural conclusion of learned behavior (initial reward and habituation with often diminished rewards,) the disease model compels those affected to surrender to the notion that they are not in control over their own beliefs and subsequent actions, and must appeal to faith-healing operations such as AA/NA. By empowering those with problematic addictive behaviors, they take ownership of their own lives and more effectively steer their outcomes, thus reinforcing their own self-confidence through repeated success at reaching goals. Healthy goals then take priority over what Dr. Lewis refers to as "now appeal" or more commonly known, ego fatigue. Suppression of a desire or thought has been shown in a vast array of experiments to be counter-productive. Why not set large goals with a high personal value, then break them down into smaller goals? To me, it is a no-brainer. Activate desire to something more valuable than short-term satisfaction (alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling) and continue reinforcing that and you will recover.
for 2 years, I was severely addicted to playing Monster Hunter 4 on the Nintendo 3DS. My playtime was clocked in at 3,456 hours. I played that game religiously, then slowly started drifting away from it? Why? I played 8 hour sessions almost on a daily basis for so many months, then gradually lost interest in it.
Wonderful, enlightening, and playful talk. Thank you for sharing this.
Bizarre lack of discussion of left and right brain function in these models of addiction.
Disease = 1. Affected organ, 2. Damage to that organ and processes associated with it, and 3. Symptoms. Addiction meets this criteria. Normal development and love do not - the brain isn't damaged or pathologically changed with these. What's the problem with calling addiction a disease of "learning" (neural plasticity) and addressing it with psychosocial, medical, and whatever else work?
mbrunner13 The problem with the disease model is inherent in the definition. The disease model tells us that addiction is a chronically-relapsing brain disease. While it does (marginally) reduce stigma upon the person struggling with addictive behaviors, it also places a sense of helplessness upon the subject, often reminding the person that his or her "disease" is "in the parking lot doing push-ups," or other such harmful platitudes. Rather than acknowledging that addictive behaviors are the natural conclusion of learned behavior (initial reward and habituation with often diminished rewards,) the disease model compels those affected to surrender to the notion that they are not in control over their own beliefs and subsequent actions, and must appeal to faith-healing operations such as AA/NA. By empowering those with problematic addictive behaviors, they take ownership of their own lives and more effectively steer their outcomes, thus reinforcing their own self-confidence through repeated success at reaching goals. Healthy goals then take priority over what Dr. Lewis refers to as "now appeal" or more commonly known, ego fatigue. Suppression of a desire or thought has been shown in a vast array of experiments to be counter-productive. Why not set large goals with a high personal value, then break them down into smaller goals? To me, it is a no-brainer. Activate desire to something more valuable than short-term satisfaction (alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling) and continue reinforcing that and you will recover.
for 2 years, I was severely addicted to playing Monster Hunter 4 on the Nintendo 3DS. My playtime was clocked in at 3,456 hours. I played that game religiously, then slowly started drifting away from it? Why? I played 8 hour sessions almost on a daily basis for so many months, then gradually lost interest in it.