Addiction and Exile Part 2

A choice of enslavement.

As I stated yesterday I am not fond of the idea that addiction is a disease, however I also find the "moral failing" definition awkward. Too many behaviours are seemingly becoming medicalized and only yesterday did I come across the latest medicalized condition;

Couch potatoes are sick, need drugs

Extreme laziness is a medical condition called motivational deficiency disorder (MoDeD), say Australian researchers.

It is a sign of the times and I believe the diseasing of behaviour and the human condition is becoming more of a problem than the actual behaviour. I am no medical expert but the idea of laziness being a symptom of disease seems preposterous. Are we forgetting that we possess freewill or have we also placed that as a symptom of disease? Perhaps life is a medical condition, which needs treatment.

I am being drawn off on a tangent, however there is some relevance to the discussion at hand. If addiction is choice, which I believe it is and why I specifically chose to describe it as choosing enslavement, then we are compelled to ask why someone would choose such enslavement. It is here that the notion of exile may lead us in understanding enslavement as a choice. Lets presuppose that the person prior to addiction is already in a state of exile. It may be due to some dysfunction in personality for instance or dysfunction in a belief system the person possesses. There are possibly instances where the individual has come from a happy family environment, having been reared by loving and caring parents, however some degree of exile is still present I suggest. I am merely creating some form of assumption and perhaps illustrating a set of circumstances to help myself, primarily understand and paint the picture of exile. I find it difficult to perceive in what context exile is present in such a person who has come from a loving and caring environment, however, I can possibly muse in saying that exile exists, not from a family context but perhaps from the view of a peer group. One could even ponder if it is merely an inward exile, a detachment of self if you will. One could make an analysis of every conceivable scenario yet it is enough that we assume exile exists prior to addiction.

I haven't got very far tonight with this analysis and fear I have indeed strayed too far afield with my meanderings. Perhaps it is best I revisit this in the morning when I have a clearer head. Part 3, tomorrow will perhaps finish my long suffering intellecualization of Addiction and Exile, let's hope so.