Our brains are wired to pick up patterns. You do something today, tomorrow the next, and before you know it, your body starts to lean towards the direction of that particular activity. When it's a good activity, we expect something productive as a result. But when a particular activity turns out to be something you definitely should not be trying, the results don’t look so good.
Addiction, for example, may sound like a big bad word. It is indeed. It's a level of repetitive pattern no one ever prays to get to. But it can happen to someone right under their nose. Because of its tricky nature, people don't actually realize so fast that they are getting addicted to something. The whole time, it may just be them being in denial when you tell them they're getting addicted to something. I also don't think there's anything like good or bad addiction, just like the word itself doesn't sound good. Most people may want to mention getting obsessed with certain good habits like reading books or stuff like that. But I believe when the word is mentioned, we all think about things that affect us negatively, like doing drugs, drinking heavily, and all those bad habits.
For this prompt, we're looking more into whether addiction is a choice or a disease. There's something about calling addiction a disease that sounds off. Just like I mentioned in the beginning, our brains pick up patterns. And since we are the ones to start a pattern before our brain picks up on it, it also means we can break the pattern if we're very self-aware. Addiction is basically telling your brain and body, "Hey, this particular thing makes me feel good and I can't function without it." For instance, if someone develops a habit of drinking for escapism or just because it feels good, they are already creating that pattern of dependence on drinks. So no matter what happens, the person will need to drink all the time to feel good.
Developing a habit isn't hard, but breaking it is where all the work is. Which is why addiction is such a scary word. Personally, I wouldn't call addiction a disease. From the moment someone decides to keep going down a path that is potentially destructive, that is where the choice starts. Someone chose to start drinking every day until their body cannot function properly if they haven't had a drink or two. Calling it a disease kind of shifts that focus. Someone might not necessarily decide that they're going to get addicted to drinking per se. But when that person keeps going to the bar or buying drinks for themselves, it's a choice already.
The good news is that there is also a choice to stop. Even the worst addicts woke up one day and decided they were not going to drink anymore or smoke anymore, and with conscious effort, they were able to quit entirely despite all the hurdles of withdrawal. But to be on the safe side, it is better not to become addicted to anything. Reversing the effects is way more expensive and exhausting than starting it. Which is why most people may think it's a disease, because someone might need to go on therapy or even start living off some medication to help them recover. The best thing to do is to not start at all. So even when that drink is staring someone in the face, there's always a choice to pick it up or just turn away. I highly recommend turning away, though.
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