Addiction isn't all that bad, or is it?

Now, the more people read this, the more deluded they will most likely think I am.

So this is a little foreword to let you know what I am writing goes against majority of the world’s view on drugs and addiction. And that I shared opposing views only a few days ago until I came to the realization that addiction is more prominent than you think and that there’s a better perspective you can take on things.

Many people have known somebody, or known of addiction being prevalent in their lives. Whether this be a loved one, friend, relative, celebrity or some random guy/girl on the news, addiction is everywhere. Literally, everywhere.

Painted in a negative light, the word addict or addiction is associated with a needle in somebody’s arm or somebody shady tweaking on the so-called ‘lower class’ streets. However, addiction is not what you might think it is. Addiction can be healthy. But often, unhealthy. Think about our addictions to food, television, exercise, drugs and alcohol, pornography, chocolate, wine, dyeing hair, and the list goes on! All of these can be abused, but what is considered unhealthy?

Could something be deemed unhealthy if it is detrimental to the person? Or if it becomes detrimental to the people around them? Is it bad if their body decays, or their arteries clog, or they don’t maintain their relationships because of their addiction?

I’m selfish for thinking addiction is bad. Particularly somebody’s recreational drug use. Drug dependency can affect people so horribly, but people are and should be selfish… including the addicts and their families and friends! Everybody has expectations of you, and although being inhibited by drugs or alcohol or whatever is hard to watch or endure when the consequences catch up, their choice, their life and ultimately their fate. If people are willing to subject themselves to health problems and potentially kill themelves, then so be it. A great deal of importance is placed on life, but it is selfsh not to let people enjoy what makes the feel good. (Example – do people that have not been affected directly by sex addiction really take it that seriously? And what makes it an addiction, particularly if it is never assessed by a health professional? Maybe the person just needs sex all the time.) If I’m ignorant, educate me.

By now you probably think I’m crazy, or selfish, maybe even delusional but do I really have it all wrong? And yes, I have seen what drugs do to people, I’ve seen what alcohol does to people and both can be terrible. I had a family friend who was addicted to drugs, and their kids were suffering because addiction can be unrelentless. Especially if the person does not want help! Most people know what they’re getting into – and more often than not, they didn’t intend to become dependent. Drugs can do some crazy things to people… but no one mentions how people develop dependencies on food, or exercise hours a day, or talk on their mobiles everyday, or become addicted to porn. They’re all addictions, but what’s unhealthy? Drugs are used in hospitals, surgeries, chemists and no one thinks twice if they’re legal. Food and alcohol is legal too, but it kills people. Frequently I’ve seen what I recognize as an alcohol dependency effect on a loved one and it makes me wonder why someone would want what i see as poison (and disapprove and despise of) and for them to drink to the point of sickness, where they cant control their mouth or fists. It’s legal though, so I suppose it is looked past – you dont usually recognise an alcoholic straight off the street as you would a drug addict. Or maybe they’re both. You don’t suspect a happy woman at work who could be addicted to prescription pills. You just don’t unless you see signs and even then, people can cover up very well.

Just think about it all, have a little compassion – people usually get into things for a reason or because of missing pieces in their lives… or they take it once, eat it once, do it once and continue simply because they like it. Cliché, but never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes you can read people but it is highly unlikely you accurately do all the time. Including the man at the pub all day, the woman cleaning her house from day to night, the lady dressed in a short skirt and boots. Faces can tell a story, through emotion (or lack of), wrinkles, smell, etc… even then that’s judgment. The couple with dreadlocks might not be ‘potheads’, or maybe they are but who cares? Save your judgement and let them be.