No, being a drug addict or an alcoholic does not mean you have a disease. What you have is a bad habit, that once begun, has continued and grown. I do agree that drugs and alcohol can give one a condition which will be chronicled as a disease. The mind and body are interrelated, and when one is affected, so is the other. This relationship means that an alcoholic or a drug addict is at high risk for being subceptible to certain conditions which affect the whole body. Heart trouble, ulcers, mental illness, vascular diseases lead out on this list. That would be enough, but these conditions also cause the breakdown of other organs and systems in the body. Since both are mind altering, the mental state of the consumer is worsened.
If you have ever been an alcoholic and tried to stop, you have found it very, very difficult. Belonging to organizations such as Alcoholics Annonymous is helpful, and there are other support groups, but until you make up your mind firmly to resist drinking, the habit will continue. Habits don't overtake us overnight, and neither do they depart that fast. Putting to practice good health practices once again will help one to overcome the addiction.
I have known several people who are addicted. Because of this, their behavior was irrational at times and very selfish. Some were violent, and others weren't, but all of them had in common the factor that they were headed down the road to living a life of a poor quality. They seemed to live for the bottle or the drugs. Those who chose to do harder drugs, also made themselves vulnerable to catching HIV or AIDS, although I knew of none who did and make it known. A life of drugs or alcohol eventually begins to be revealed outwardly on the consumer.
The worst thing an alcoholic or drug addict can do is to deny that eventually, if not immediately, they are suspect for bodily impairment. The road to recovery, should they choose to take it, may still not mean that they will be free of a condition created by the drugs. Slurred speech, liver and spleen implications, slower response time, brain impairment
is not a reward for their investment. Those who consume these two items- drugs and alcohol,
must stop and consider their families and friends. These two items create undue stress on
these two groups. And if the truth be told- they can indirectly help to break down those around you, and lead them to a life of poor health. It is hoped that anyone using these items will turn their lives around while they can recover, and use the remainder of their life renewing their purpose of living by God's grace.