Addiction is a life and death situation, to be taken seriously.
It is obviously not a topic for these forums, as too many here do not take it as such. . .

As has been said by many since the beginning of understanding that addiction is a disease-- "I do not care about your feelings as much as I care about your LIFE" -- so no apologies for being hard-core.

Please do not generalise, and don't tell others what is truth.
I happen to not agree.

Addicts do not necessarily hurt others around them.

Of course, if the addicted person has kids, that would affect them, and possibly hurt them, I can see that. I can also see that some addicts might turn violent and therefore hurt others that are not necessarily close to them.
But I reject the generalisation.

Also, as you rightly pointed out, there's many types of addiction and I for one don't feel superior just because I'm not addicted to a controlled or illegal substance.
In other words, everyone should look at their own addictive behaviour before judging others.

Addiction is taught as a disease for money, power and evolution. If a gambling addict coughs on you, covid.

Learning to be addicted to sh!+, just like eating at Wal-Mart, is bad! Too sad...

Old dog? Get a shock collar.

I feel that saying addicts don't affect other people is the same reasoning as the concept of a victimless crime, of which there is no such thing. There seems to be a large deal made about splitting particular hairs about point making, and some side argument about how people have chosen voice their own opinions. People are free to have and voice their opinions.

Every addict I've known or had experience with, greatly affected other people.

The human race is a society, and addiction is largely a social disease.

The only people who I could surmise are addicts who have little to no effect on other people would be homeless persons who have no active ties to anyone else. But even for that situation, I learned just after Halloween that a former coworker died, divorced and homeless due to their addiction, still they left a family behind. The reason people heard about it was because the family got notified once the deceased was identified.

Everybody has a past, an addict didn't just appear out of nowhere and develop their addiction in a social vacuum.

Related to willpower and discussion that an addict could "just stop", sometimes is not viable. For certain addictions, especially drugs, the brain is literally affected, the pleasure center transmitters and receivers are mixed up, as well as the passage conduits between them, that is after all what addiction is. There is medical information which does show these problems and how long it takes to heal, if possible from these situations. As an example, a very affected herion addict's brain could take 18-24 months of no use, to return to a normal state. A very big issue is that people forget, lose patience, etc. The addict loses the acute remorse, and figures "why not?", their pleasure centers wish to have the addicted situation satisfied. Involved people feel things are looking good, be that 3 months, 6 months, or a year. They can be very disappointed and impatient with an addict who regressed, it's difficult to not be when it's been a year and it appears that year was entirely negated in the span of a few days.

That's why they call it a doctor's practice, the definition of disease is either fact (e.g HIV is a virus) or an opinion.

If the world didn't run on opinions we wouldn't need psychologists.

The average person is not born with diabetes and many like to think they are born gay but like you said social.

We're all addicted to our brains but learn too young opinions and that's a fact.

Another fact(?) even a shock collar can't change most religious (no pun, opinionated) minds.

Just because something is a crime, that itself doesn't mean there is any actual victim. It's illegal where I live to not wear a helmet while riding a push bike, which you can be charged for, and have to go to court for - although normal practice is that the cops either give you a warning or an on the spot fine. The reality is that, it is a group of people in some parliament somewhere that may have little to no understanding of the subject themselves, that decide that something should be a "crime". That doesn't make it immoral by default, it simply just might mean that a bunch of complete morons thought it should be illegal. The reasons why they thought something should be illegal are a different matter entirely.

While I don't disagree with the quote above; if someone doesn't want to stop doing whatever it is, then they aren't likely to even bother trying to give up in the first place. And even if they do try to give up, if they don't want to, then it'll never happen. In other words: if you don't admit there is a problem, there is no possibility of solving it. It doesn't matter what the problems is, you have to admit there is one to be able to solve it, period.

"That's All, Folks!"
 

ad·dic·tion (ă-dik'shŭn)
Habitual psychological or physiologic dependence on a substance or practice that is beyond voluntary control.
[L. ad-dico, pp. -dictus, consent, fr. ad- + dico, to say]

Medical Dictionary for the Dental Professions © Farlex 2012

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"You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it.
You must lean to see the world anew." -- Albert Einstein

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. . . and this gets us into spiritual consciousness. An awakening to a new consiousness must be sought.
It does not come from mere belief or even a non-active faith. And it must be sought with an open mind.

For, 'it is easier to act one's way into a new way of thinking than it is to think one's way into a new way of acting.'

And, "faith without works is dead."

Attachment 35117

--not a misquote: Google, About 790,000,000 results (0.90 seconds) :p

Just make up a new 100 years, oh you can not1 (All puns RRrrr uppercase?!. :D) We in the other pan can.


As religion, laziness and cumputers evolve we can learn. :battle: :doh::hattip:
E.G: The Joy of Movement: How Exercise... Kelly McGonigal.

You know what they say: like "street smarts," "book smarts" is more often an oxymoron.

Don't be jeally, access and exclusion 'get some.

Maybe you're just jealous your friend can gamble?

I'd rather throw a dollar in the trash, spin around three times and say: wow a dollar... :p

Yeah he should really teach me how to throw my money into the trash can everyday :(, until I reach the state I cannot even pay for the busfare.

It is not gambling when everyone is guaranteed to lose. It is throwing your money into the trash can.

I asked him,

"Why do you keep on playing even if you are aware yourself that you lose $100USD for $20USD you earn?

He says he believes in his luck :doh:

The house always wins in the end. I thought everybody knew that.

I hear the house always win$? Because they kick the smartest people out the door, how would (for say) counting cards be illegal?

Here was a tradition for birthdays, before grandma died, we'd go to Potawatomi for bingo.
Also once in a blue moon on vacation, like near the Dells*... everyone I'm with now and then (who won't let me vote it out and hiking\kayaking* in) points advice from above: go in with what you're willing to spend, leave with what you win. I hit nickel slots! ;)

Only been to Potawatomi once in the past 10 or 15 years, saw mass growth. I (was too early downtown to meet a friend so) tinkered around the slots for a minute, won close to $300 and walked out the door. Back when they 1st let them start doing blackjack I planned on going to check it out, never did. Now there's poker in the back and liquor all-around!(-Long story longer...) :D

+1
I quit gambling long before I stopped drinking. Used to play roullette and win some every payday until the casino "discouraged" me. The ponies were my real problem, however. I just quick going to the track.

With the booze, I needed help... it is a physiological AND mental issue. The gambling was purely mental.

I'd say best cure for "diseases" with thoughts* + + + is educating every young mind... widely free of opinions! Currently too many generations multipleing tho?