That Addiction Is Not A Disease And Rehab Is Bullshit Summary

“This Neuroscientist Argues That Addiction Is Not a Disease and Rehab Is Bullshit” written by Neil Sharma. Marc Lewis argues how addiction is not a disease and rehab is ineffective.

Sharma Interviews Marc Lewis a scientific author, A University of Toronto Professor, faculty member at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and one who has traveled the road of recovery. The article was written in Vice, a magazine, and website that covers a broad spectrum of controversial issues.

Marc Lewis uses Logos, Ethos, and Pathos to argue that addiction isn’t a disease and rehabs' are ineffective. He does this by using facts, stating comparisons to human behavior and emotion.

When asked why he criticizes rehab Lewis responded “It depends on where

you are. In the US, there are a lot of violations, a lot of improprieties. Treatment is inadequate. Opiate substitution doses are wrong; the period of time for getting off it is often wrong. Individual care is lacking. They have generic policies, which often don't benefit people, and the medical care is a fairly small aspect of the program in general.”

He describes a generic method from rehab “For some people, it can work because they get them out of their environment and drugs, so they dry out. But it doesn't work for long because they go back to their environments, and all the triggers are there. They don't get the psychological skills addicts need to move on.”

Lewis goes further to criticize rehab centers because they are either overpriced and unorganized or understaffed.

The other reason he criticizes rehab is the state-run facilities that are affordable have wait lists that can sometimes be out of the time frame to help a patient. “A lot of people running rehabs are under-skilled, recovered addicts who got a crash course. They're unregulated and unsupervised. “It's a big mess. If you don't pay a large amount, there are state-run rehabs, but often there are waiting lists and other compromises that you need to go through. The waiting period itself could be a real problem because people are often willing to (get sober) within a small

window.”

The other point lewis is critical of is that the medical model stands by the idea that addiction is a disease and thus supports a model that is self-perpetuating treatments like rehab and medication. Lewis establishes ethos by stating “NIDA funds about 90 percent of addiction research in the world, according to some reports. You're giving money to people who are doing research on the biological or cellular mechanisms involved in addiction, but they're not giving money to people who are challenging the disease model so that in itself is a self-perpetuating system.”

Lewis questions if addiction is a chronic brain disease that addicts will never overcome then why do most addicts recover according to studies. He makes this point because the people who have been subject to being called chronically ill don’t get the proper treatment. He states “If you believe you have a chronic disease and so does your care provider, they're not very likely to recommend mindfulness meditation, but it's been shown to be very effective. “

Lewis establishes pathos by giving his take on addiction. The real driving force for getting over addiction is willpower. “A lot of addiction experts feel that self-empowerment, self-motivation, self-directed activities, self-designed goals for [addicts'] own progress are critical steps on the road of overcoming addiction. The medical model says you're a patient and you have to do what the doctor tells you.”

Lewis supports his point that addiction isn’t a disease by explaining how the alcohol gene is fake. He does this by explaining how there is no genetic correlation to alcoholism rather personality traits that merely generally correlate. “An example he uses is there is no gene, or cluster of genes, that create addiction. Rather, there are personality traits that have a genetic loading, like impulsivity. “

Lewis uses logos when he argues against the disease model because of the way neural activation patterns are the same in behavioral addictions as you do in substance addictions.

He has a counter argument which backs up his logic by stating that physical dependency is another issue on top of addiction

Lewis appeals to pathos when he argues that calling addiction a chronic brain disease combats stigma. He says “If you have a disease and it's not your fault, you're not a lazy, decadent, self-centered, weak-willed whatever... it's that you have a disease, so you shouldn't feel so ashamed or guilty.” The words he uses convey a sense that society makes you feel if you’re an addict such as weak-willed whatever.

Lewis uses ethos by quoting Gene M. Heyman, a research psychologist at McLean Hospital and a Lecturer in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Who writes about how age plays a role in overcoming addiction due to internal and external influences. The first influence is the internal aspect which each drug has x number years each person usually takes to quit. The second aspect is developmental age around the age of twenty the brain is developing to start using executive control. The third aspect is external factors such as

responsibilities.

Lewis pushes his argument that addiction is not a disease by explaining how addiction is learning. He appeals to pathos by using an example of relationships. “So are relationships when you're in love with someone. If that person happens to be abusive, you might still be in love with them for 12 years or the rest of your life. That's through learning.” By doing this he gives us another perspective on the way we learn.

Lewis explains how Psychological and interpersonal tools are vital to recovery. Were isolation and feeling alone directly correlates to the addiction he applies logos to this statement by using the rat park study as an example. He criticizes how people in support groups superficially connect where other means of making connections are harmonious and fulfilling.

Throughout the article, lewis uses different rhetorical techniques to convince his audience that addiction is not a disease and that rehab is bad.

Some of his use of facts are anecdotal and can’t be backed up with hard evidence, some of his argument flip-flops. At times the article is confusing to follow, however, an overall picture could be reached even if not everything could be agreed on.