my first potential trolling...at what point is an addiction really just a habit?

[vi edit]

Ok, this thread could get nasty

Last week, while at a party a couple of us had a discussion involving cigarettes. There were a couple of non-smokers(including myself), and a couple smokers.

They conversation was about cigarettes being addictive.

To make a long conversation short, a couple smokers said that they had quit smoking for more than a couple months at a time, and some even as long as a year, but they said that they went back to smoking because they were addicted.

Ok, I'll accept that if you try to kick smoking in a week or so go back to it because of aggitation, headaches, ect, then yes, you have succumbed to the powers of addiction.

BUT, after a period of a month or two, and especially after a year of non smoking, the withdrawl symptoms have been kick, and your body is already trying to repair itself from the damage that smoking has caused.

So this brings me to my point - I will not accept "addiction" as a reason for going back to smoking, or using any other substance for that matter, after quitting it for an extended amount of time. After a month or two, and especially a year, it is because [insert substance of choice here] use is habitual. Habits can be broken, you just have to try. The addiction arguement is no longer valid.

I see people giving up substances for pregnancy, lent, bets, personal choice, and whatnot for extended periods of time, and eventually going back to them.

Anyone care to comment on this?

I know that a post like this could be considered trolling, but I do feel that there is a very legitimate question involved here. Lets try to keep it remotely civil

 

[Adul]

Its comes down to ones own will power to overcome these cravings. They never really lave a person even after a year. That the nature of addictions. You will always have that craving

 

[vi edit]

Adul, your post is exactly what I'm trying to say, after a certain point, the body is no longer addicted. After the addiction has passed, it's habits that "fuel the fire" so to speak.

Are you really addicted to the "substance" or to the "habit"?

 

[perry]

A little from column A, a little from column B. My aunt has tried quitting in multiple times. Most recently, she got down to about 2 cigarettes a day, they she started having some health troubles (unrelated to smoking), stress got to her, and she started right back up in full swing.

In your mind, you relate the habit of smoking with the feeling of less stress or whatever. When they need stress relieved, nicotine comes to mind and they revert back to smoking instead of some other activity.

It's an endless cycle, addictions. Just ask Daryl Strawberry.

 

[apoppin]

I think your topic question needs to be rephrased: "At what point is a habit an addiction?"

You may smoke due to peer pressure (I started because my girfriend smoked) but never really liked it at all. It then becomes a physical addiction (which I broke and never went back to smoking or my old GF either).

Now if you smoke for years and years and it becomes a deeply ingrained habit as well as an addiction it may be far far more difficult to quit. The smokers who "quit" for a few months probably never stopped thinking about smoking - they were addicted and returned to it even though no trace of nicotine remained in their bodies.

What you have so much trouble accepting is that the "mental' addiction is far stronger than the physical one. AA says "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic". This is generally true. Alcoholics take it one day at a time - they know that even after 20 years of abstinance they may again succumb to their old addiction.

This view has been challenged. The reason, I believe, is that some problem drinkers (not true alcoholics) has managed to return to drinking in moderation (I was a problem drinker and can drink in moderation although I choose not to for health reasons).

I also believe vi_edit since you have no experience in this matter, you are not really qualified to comment as to "willpower' or lack of "trying".

EDIT: An addiction is an addiction whether it be mental or physical (if they can really be separated). If one is truly addicted, it is a difficult fight to break free.

 

[Isla]

What apoppin said.

There are both physical AND psychological addictions.

Breaking a psychological addiction takes a great deal of soul searching and inner work... Pr0n addictions are a good example of something that is basically a psychological addiction. You don't need to see the porn to get off, but your mind becomes pretty attached to it....

Breaking the physical addiction/habit only helps to a degree... until you understand your motivations/triggers for continuing a habit, you are likely to fall back on it again and again.

 

[vi edit]

Thanks Red...I think

Once again, is it really the drug that you are addicted to, or is it the environment/situation that you are accoustomed to consuming/using the drug in?

For me, If I never went to a party, or never went to a bar with my co-workers or my parents, I probably would drink very, very infrequently. In my case, I drink because it's what I always used to do when I was in those situations. It feels uncomfortable not to do it in those situations. In my case, it's a habit, not an addiction.

With with my friends who have quit smoking, they couldn't go out on "smoke breaks" with thier smoking friends because they wanted a cigarette. In essence - pavlovs dogs. Ring the bell, the dog salavates. 4:20 break comes, gotta go smoke. Habit.

If you break the habits, do you break the "addiction"?

I'm taking this from a behavioral approach.

 

[apoppin]

Thanks for pointing that out RedDawn. I missed that post. Sorry, vi_edit.

The entire point of my post was to point out that breaking an addiction is a struggle whether it be mental or physical. And I may add, for me - the physical part was far easier to break.

 

[veryape]

You obviously don't understand the concept or meaning of addiction. Detox,withdrawal and addiction are all different words and all have different meanings and you need to understand the definitions of all before you make such an uninformed post. Whoever told you that the meaning of addiction was about the bodies physical withdrawal and only that totally misinformed you,addiction is also mental and is with you for the rest of your life. Thinking that an addiction is over and done with as soon as the physical withdrawal is over is just totally wrong. Sorry if I sound a bit rude,but come on,think before posting.