As Stanford University’s acclaimed psychologist Albert Bandura declared in a major research review, “alcohol abuse is not a monolithic condition with an inevitable progression” but rather, “a multi-determined pattern” varying from person to person in its severity and causation.

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As I previously said, addiction is psychological and behavioral. It also lies along a continuum. Like Albert Bandura stated many years ago, addiction varies from person to person in severity and causation. Yet, the majority of people regardless of their life conditions or the circumstances that brought them into the system, are all seen the same way. We are all addicted to something. Addiction lies along continuum. I am addicted to the gym. I must go every day otherwise I don't feel right both psychologically and physically. Many people go to rehabs because they self medicate. They need to numb and cover up their emotional and psychological pain. Many others are in rehab because of pain medications. They become addicted and now they are in rehab. Does this make them diseased? The confusion is in the language. Addiction conjures up the idea of a seriously impaired heroin junkie injecting themselves in an abandon warehouse. The medical model suggests addiction is biological. It is a chronic, progressive brain disease. At the same time, AA people will tell you they have a spiritual disease. Which is it? What is a spiritual disease? Unless you change the meaning of the words, disease is a failure to self regulate an organ or organ system which causes serious impairment that can be observed through medical tests. Spirituality refers to connecting or reconnecting with nature, the universe, the Divine, God, and aspiring to truth, joy, well-being, beauty and life satisfaction.. So, a spiritual disease does not make sense. But, what you could say is that these words together suggest the person is literally sick from the lack of a spiritual life because addiction has taken over. There is some merit in that thinking. The problem is that the spiritual part is related to moral shortcomings and character defects. These are sins. By confessing your sins and admitting powerlessness, you can now be transformed.

But, what about the teenage girl abused by her father who suffers in silence and drinks to escape and then gets into trouble with the law? Or, how about the teenager confused about their sexual identity that suffers in silence with repressed thoughts and uses substances to help numb their pain? Or, how about the housewife who is subjected to domestic abuse, and suffers in silence while self medicating? Do they have moral shortcomings and character defects? Are they diseased because they are trying to escape within their own minds from their suffering?

How about someone who drinks socially or on rare occasions, and receives a DUI. Illegal? Yes. But, now as part of the recovery system, the DUI will labeled them with a drinking problem. Drinking problem means AA. AA means that if you don't admit to your drinking problem you are in denial. You have an addiction whether you like it or not because you will now be subjected to mandatory AA meetings, drug counselors who will see you as diseased. If you are drug tested, what does a positive reading really indicate? If you test positive that means you were non-compliant, but you have already been told at this point that your problems are biological so what would expect? If you test negative, you are compliant, which means you have control over your biology and therefore personal responsibility and self control and are able to overcome biology. Which is it?

Think about it like this. Even if you have a conversion experience, you are still exercising your subjectivity and therefore your behavior. When you comply with abstinence that is a behavior. When you don't, that is a behavior. The problem is, when you don't you are reprimanded. Treatment is punitive. All or nothing. When you do comply, its because you are going to meetings and working the steps. But, again, what about the 95% of people who may not have a drinking problem, but have problems that came from drinking?