You may think that you are an exception or that you’re not the kind of person that would become addicted. But addiction is a disease that no one can outrun. However, is addiction really a disease? Or is it just your mental state causing you to want the drug. I believe that addiction is a personal choice and that almost any addiction can be overcome if it hasn’t already put you in your grave.

After watching my own mother struggle through her addiction I learned a lot about the topic. I do not believe that addiction is a disease after seeing my mom before and after her drug use. Before my mom started her drug use she never had any addictive qualities that affected the parts of her brain that cause addiction. Therefore, my mom had no symptoms of this disease before starting drugs. When using drugs, the parts of the drug that are released into your brain typically replace something else inside your brain. This is what causes people to be addicted because the drug is replacing a part of the brain. Which causes the brain to believe that it cannot survive without that drug. This is what causes your body and brain to feel addicted and this is also what causes your body to go through withdrawal.

This means that when you are on the drug you do in fact have a disease of the brain. However, once the drug is stopped and withdrawal symptoms have gone you no longer have a need for that drug in your brain. Meaning that you no longer have a disease of your brain longing for what it doesn’t have. Now all you have is your desire to get high and your want for the drug. This means that since your body no longer needs that substance there is nothing forcing you to use it which means it has now become your choice.  This leads me to believe that addiction is not a disease at all but yet a minor modification to your brain which can be solved by removing the harmful drugs from your life.

Another big problem with addiction is how big of a problem it has become. In my opinion once you have tried any addictive drug once there is no escaping. People may believe that they are immune because the first time they used they didn’t feel like doing it again. This is a big problem because they continue to do it sporadically until they actually are addicted. Addiction is a problem that can happen to anyone and with how strong the influence is that drug use is cool and relaxing or even stimulating encourages people to try it. No one is immune to addiction this isn’t like the local flu. No matter how much someone may convince you that you won’t get addicted and that everything will be okay it won’t be. People who sell deadly drugs in my opinion should get just as much jail time as a murderer for having sold drugs in large doses to people who could use and end up dead. I also believe that we should have more clinics for addiction. The only detox in Delaware actually no longer deals with opiates and some other forms of drugs. They also have to turn away so many people when they don’t have beds. How can it be that addiction is such a huge problems with deadly consequences and we are turning way people who want help.

I think that addiction is a unstressed topic that deserves to be looked at more closely. With the number of addicts rising the number of clinics, beds, and places should be rising as well not turning people away. If people are making a choice to make it better why would we turn them down if we want this disease to ever be cured we have to have ways to help. Everyone deserves some help.