DEAR EDITOR:

Addiction: a disease or choice? In order to answer this question, let’s determine the difference between an activity and the results of that activity.

There are many activities that can cause diseases that are not necessarily diseases themselves. Why do we consider an irresponsible, self-destructive activity a disease?

Addiction is a behavior and it is determined by the individual person. A behavior is the actions and mannerisms made by individuals in conjunction with themselves or their environment.

With that being said, let’s talk about a scenario — an addict who is consuming alcohol. This person will monitor how much alcohol he or she is consuming and most likely never drink every last drink they have. This addict will always be in control. Coming from a medical standpoint, this person will be able to regulate how much he or she drinks, and there is no real evidence that they physically cannot slow their drinking down. They just choose not to.

Let’s also talk about treatment styles to help justify my reasoning. The most popular treatment for addiction is programs like AA and rehab centers. AA is designed to help individuals with addictive behaviors and to have them focus their willpower on a higher being. How does this apply to people with diseases like diabetes or asthma? Can religion cure these diseases? No, but it can help the individual gain willpower to fight the disease.

As Jeffrey A. Schaler, Ph.D. wrote in Psychiatric Times in 2002, “An activity based on a religious belief masquerading as a clinical form of treatment tells us something about what the activity really is — an ethical, not medical, problem in living.”

JENNA MATHENY

Youngstown