The Argumentative Essay
Often people will say that once an addict always an addict. This popular cliché is widely used in the addiction and recovery world. What this statement is actually saying is that once a person has experienced drug abuse issues or any continuous compulsive behavior that they will always be at risk for this behavior, even if they have accomplished sobriety. This despondent way of viewing an addict’s behavior may have a ring of truth to it, but at the very least is a distortion of the real situation. There are lots of people who at one time in their life have developed an addiction to drugs or other destructive behaviors, and they were capable of recovering to never have another similar incident. I personally have recovered from an addiction problem and have been completely sober for over 5 years now. I am no longer an addict, because I have not …show more content…
The allegation that anyone should continue to acknowledge themselves as an addict even after they have achieved sobriety is definitely arguable. I guess it is safe to say that some people are comfortable with this statement because it fits with what their viewpoint of this disease is. Others may not prefer to be labeled like this, but rather see their substance abuse issues as past-tense.
Another belief that goes hand in hand with the once an addict always an addict theory is that relapse is a part of recovery. Relapse is defined as a deterioration after a temporary improvement. That would imply that it is common for someone who has been in recovery to resort back to the old destructive behaviors of abusing substances again. This approach to recovery it invites the addict to return to their drug abuse behavior, and, therefore, could possibly set them up for failure, when it is not fact. When someone is determined to get sober, and remain sober, they will not even entertain this
Often people will say that once an addict always an addict. This popular cliché is widely used in the addiction and recovery world. What this statement is actually saying is that once a person has experienced drug abuse issues or any continuous compulsive behavior that they will always be at risk for this behavior, even if they have accomplished sobriety. This despondent way of viewing an addict’s behavior may have a ring of truth to it, but at the very least is a distortion of the real situation. There are lots of people who at one time in their life have developed an addiction to drugs or other destructive behaviors, and they were capable of recovering to never have another similar incident. I personally have recovered from an addiction problem and have been completely sober for over 5 years now. I am no longer an addict, because I have not …show more content…
The allegation that anyone should continue to acknowledge themselves as an addict even after they have achieved sobriety is definitely arguable. I guess it is safe to say that some people are comfortable with this statement because it fits with what their viewpoint of this disease is. Others may not prefer to be labeled like this, but rather see their substance abuse issues as past-tense.
Another belief that goes hand in hand with the once an addict always an addict theory is that relapse is a part of recovery. Relapse is defined as a deterioration after a temporary improvement. That would imply that it is common for someone who has been in recovery to resort back to the old destructive behaviors of abusing substances again. This approach to recovery it invites the addict to return to their drug abuse behavior, and, therefore, could possibly set them up for failure, when it is not fact. When someone is determined to get sober, and remain sober, they will not even entertain this