Is Addiction a Disease or Moral Bankruptcy?

There are two polarizing opinions about those who live with an addiction. On one hand, there is the Disease Model and on the other side is the belief that addicts are morally bankrupt people.

The Disease model takes the stance that addiction is caused by a combination of biological, neurological, genetic, and environmental factors. This is perhaps one of the most well-known models of addiction, largely because of its endorsement by the twelve-step approach to treatment in the publication of The Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous).

The second viewpoint on addiction is that addicts are morally bankrupt and that either an addict was raised with no morals or throughout the course of their life, they lost their morals. Also, that they either do not realize the problem morally with their actions or they just don't care.

There are pros and cons to both sides. On the side of moral bankruptcy, you have the fact that addicts are made responsible for their addiction, which is a plus, but this also results in people looking on addicts as garbage and that they should be left to their own devices and not helped.

The reverse seems to be true for the disease model. They are not responsible for their addiction as they have a disease. This belief leaves the door open to people being more sympathetic toward an addict.

How about an approach that incorporates the best from both? Narconon's approach is different than both of these. Drug addicts are not inherently morally bankrupt, and they do not have a disease they will struggle with the rest of their life.

The approach is that people have problems in life. Some face their problems head-on, some just run from their problems. With addicts, they deal with the problems in their life by using drugs. Whether it be pain, emotional distress, social problems—you name a problem and it could be a reason someone is addicted to a drug.

Each person can be assisted to address their problems and handle them. Then they come to the point where they learn they are not powerless. They don’t have to be blamed and are not looked at as being terrible people.

Narconon is a different approach. If your loved one has not been able to remain sober from other drug treatment programs, learn more about this different approach today by calling us or filling out the form below.