To wonder if addiction is a choice

[BarbaraAnnee]

I am sorry if this sounds insensitive to some people but I just wondered what people thought of this. A relative of mine is an alcoholic and due to her being unfit, her parents have had to permanently look after her DD. I feel so bad for her and just wondered if she really loved her DD she would just stop drinking?

This.

My dad's an alcoholic, has been since he was little. He was one of the 'lucky' ones that had endless support, understanding and encouragement. Ultimately he chose to never accept any help, fucked everyone over and now none of us give a shit.

Since I* was little, not he! Bloody hell 🤦🏼‍♀️

Of course it's a choice.

No one says it's an easy choice or easy to give up.

But people do give up drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine etc ..

So you can make that choice to give up. You may fail of course but still a choice.

If only addiction were that simple.
No matter what the addiction - gambling, alcohol, drugs - there is no force stronger, be that a child, promise of inheritance or offer of a holiday to South of France.
So no, loving ones daughter isn't stronger than the physical and psycholigical need for their fix of choice

As the child of an addict. Yea it's an illness but it's an illness that they are choosing not to treat or get help for.

It is terrifying to think this could just happen to anybody, I love wine but what if I became an alcoholic? how would I know?

Maybe it is where the addiction is used as an excuse to harm or neglect children, be abusive to partners, commit crimes

It shouldn't excuse responsibility

Addiction isn't a choice,
I was addicted to cocaine and when that wasnt enough it was ketamine then crack. I tried to kill myself twice I was being groomed by "friends" and in so deep. I didn't know how to get out.
It is a horrible horrible place to be in I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
It is the hardest thing someone can go through and even harder to come out of the other side (with teeth)

Im so sorry

/what made you get help? have you ever been tempted to use again?

Because some people like to point fingers to make themselves feel better.

You see it on here all the time. People getting really nasty about nicotine addicts for example, yet you can see them on other threads, getting upset that people are getting nasty about their weight.

Some things are just too hard for a person to give up/put right.

So you've gone from "just stop" for her, and "try to stop" for you.

Most people in such situations have 'tried' all sorts of things, and either failed, or had their children removed before any decision of 'failed' was reached.

IME peoples 'concerns' about what I went through as a child, were mainly to do with wishing to position themselves as good and caring people, and not like my mother, and they needed that acknowledged.
It not only never translated into anything good for me, but was used as a stick to beat me with...

Be careful to choose not to be one of those people, they did just as much damage as she did.

I suppose I am just trying to understand it, it scares the shit out of me to be honest that this can just happen.

It is a choice, and it takes time to develop the addiction. Yes I could get hooked on heroin but when that happened i would think right i better stop this now

I think it is brave to even consider trying Heroin, it is so well known for being addictive, destroying lives. Do people try it and think they wont get addicted because I sure as hell wouldn't risk it

I am open to trying it once in my life, and I don't believe it would be an instant addiction

If I found out I was dying tomorrow I would give it a go

Also,
People who have not suffered with addiction are not really in a position to comment on whether it is a choice or not.

Yes I suppose

Many people who take heroin a) like the poster you quoted, initially genuinely think that they’d be able to just recognise when it was becoming a problem and stop immediately, when this is rarely realistic; or b) they don’t think about it at all because they aren’t making a decision to take it from a place of logic but one of wanting to self-medicate a problem or one of already having their judgement impaired by alcohol and / or other drugs.

I'm just not that sympathetic after having my life ruined by an alcoholic

Is that what he told you?

It's definitely not an instant addiction, and it's lovely, yeah. You'd have to go at it quite hard for a good few weeks to get physically addicted.

This is not an endorsement to try btw! I got a nasty infection from my limited dabbling in it. And the places you have to go to get it are not nice places, filled with not nice people.

Jesus!

I know I would like it, that is why I wouldnt try it