by Juvoni Beckford@juvoni
Before readingWhy I picked it up
Knowing someone who has an addiction isn't common. If it hits close to home, it can be a tremendous burden and source of pain for a family. We feel powerless, as someone care about seems to be fighting a losing battle. Is it a disease or is it by choice? Gene Heyman believes that addiction is voluntary, and he attempts to make a compelling case with years of research and case studies.
Personally, I feel I have addictive tendencies, but I've seemed to will my way into avoiding any drugs or dangerous substance. A part of me believes my ego is too defensive to risk my ambitions, so I choose to abstain from them. But does everyone have the power to make that choice or are they in less control than we think?
After readingPosted
Herman's addiction takes an alternative look at the view of addiction being more like a chronic disease, which tends to give people with addictions less burden for their situation, painting it as something not totally in their control. Herman's takes a more scientific and academic approach finding that a segment of addicts tends to quit in their 40s more incentivized by economic and personal incentives, and less psychological ones. Addiction a disorder of choice looks at the mental and behavioral conditions that can lead someone to assess the consequences of their decisions rationally, hoping to empower a drug addict to take more control over their lives. It's an important alternative to look, backed with data to lead to a more productive debate about a serious topic that affects a large number of people.
Three reasons to read it
- A look at addiction as influenced by preferences and goals, and therefore for some is a choice
- Psychiatric epidemiology, addicts' autobiographies, treatment studies, and advances in behavioral economics references into addiction
- Alternative opinions and debate between disease vs choice addiction theories
Notes for this book are still being transcribed.
