Diseasing of America Pa

by Stanton Peele

Book Overview

A Controversial Argument Against the Disease Theory of Addiction Diseasing of America is a powerful and controversial rebuttal to the "addiction as disease model" that many vested interests-including... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395588022
• ISBN13: 9780395588024
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This Book will Save Lives

This book contains valuable information that will save lives, not only the lives of those gripped in addiction who might continue addicted because the treatment industry has perpetuated folklore about their condition, but also the quality of thier lives and the lives of their families as well. How many of you have put your loved ones in a "Treatment" Center only to have them return to drink or drugs again? Yet you might be told "relapse" is "normal," in the "disease" of addiction. Could the problem of frequent "relapse" be perpetuated by the treatment industry itself? Is there really a medical disease-alcoholism-- that only the religious superstitions of Bill Wilson can arrest? If the abstinence model dressed with AA dogma is helpful, why so many relapses? Why do so many studies show these treatments are no more effective than nothing at all? Look at the case of Darryl Strawberry. Why is his wife out posing in defense religious treatment center magnates when Darryl has yet to be cured--in spite of the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent at top-name treatment centers? Could it be these treatments have actually harmed Darryl Strawberry?What about the insurance companies who pay out tens of thousands of dollars for a "treatment center" that offers religious superstitions as "treatment?" This is a problem, especially since it helps boost medical insurance premiums sky high for everyone, including the vast majority of former addicts who manage to steer clear of treatment and quit on their own when they are ready.Thanks to bold writers like Stanton Peele, a chink broken in the wall of Treatment Fantasy is becoming an enormous hole. Naturally, treatment moguls don't like Stanton. What else might we expect?

makes some good points, now tie up the loose end

Peele says, "The label 'addiction' does not obviate either the meaning of the addictive involvement within people's lives, or their responsibility for their misbehavior or for their choices...." Way too much generalization goes on on both sides of the addiction issue. Some leap to the conclusion that alcoholics and other "addicts" have no personal control whatsoever over their behavior. Some leap to the conclusion that of course they do. Peele mostly avoids leaping to conclusions, but if he leaps it's toward the latter of those two.Here's what I think the truth is, and Peele would agree: When we say that someone is addicted, we have not explained their behavior. Many people in our society think that the word "addiction" contains an explanation for behavior. "Addiction" is a *description* of behavior. It is also -- and I'm not sure what Peele would say about this -- a description of biological processes. What's important is how to get the behavior, and any negative emotions along with it (depression, etc.), to change. How can we best do this? Peele argues that we cannot do it with medical treatment. This may be true in many cases. I think medical treatment can be of assistance in some cases. What I find missing from Peele is more about what DOES work to help someone stop smoking, drinking, etc. What distinguishes those who quit from those who don't? A circular answer here won't cut it. If you say "in order to quit, you've gotta have determination and willpower", then I'll say "how do you know if someone has determination and willpower?", and you'll say "because he quit smoking." Thud. Where does a person GET willpower and determination? Maybe not from medicine. But not from nowhere. (?) I agree that personal responsibility needs to be at the forefront. I agree that the addictive model is a little confused about personal control. But Peele doesn't have all the answers, either. It's a well written book, though, and worth reading just to provoke thought and debate.

Original, provocative and persuasive

As a person who has been labelled as having several "diseases" and who has been subjected to current treatment methods, I found this book to be tremendously encouraging. I entered the treatment system as a successful individual who recognized a problem with substance abuse and associated behaviors. I accepted the disease label (made it easier on me - I wasn't really responsible for my behavior) and that I was "powerless" over my disease. Intially confused, I passively turned over my treatment protocol, virtually my entire life, to a series of programs and specialists who treated me as the victim. Confronted with large problems in my career, I know I would never have turned over so much authority to outsiders - I would have accepted responsibility for the problem and gotten it fixed. I made the mistake of accepting that the treatment specialists knew best for me. While there have been benefits to the therapy I have received (improved self-awareness, better communications about emotional issues, better stress management), I think these are more than offset by the victim status I took on. And looking back on the 12 step groups in which I spent so much time, I grow angry at the entire approach. I do not have a disease. I have made bad choices for which I am responsible. I have found that no higher power is going to swoop in and change my life for me. Pray for potatoes, but reach for the hoe. It amazes me even now that I failed to apply one of my favorite management tenents in my own life "IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE RIGHT, DO IT YOURSELF." In my defense, the initial interaction with treatment specialists comes at a time of disorientation and self-doubt. Unfortunately, the protocols try to feed and sustain that self-doubt. After reading this book, I "fired" my 12 step groups and my therapist. I have continued to read and research the alternatives and am thrilled with the way things are going. I'm still human, but I am a darn strong one and ready to take responsbility for my actions. This is a great book. I have lived much of what the author talks about and can attest to the accuracy. This is a tremendously important message that needs to get out. This is a courageous book!

Excellent and informative.

This is book critiques the big business of recovery and offers an alternative. For too many years, we've been told that only a 12 step program can keep the "disease" of addiction under control. Anybody going against the "party line" is often accused of sabotaging their loved one's well-being. We have in this volume, another point of view. America - pay attention!

This book puts alcohol abuse into perspective.

I just finished reading "Diseasing of America". I began reading this book believing I would find some answers for myself, and be able to confidently counter some of the inane circular arguments I hear regarding alcohol abuse as a disease. This is what I expected - but I got so much more. Always in the back of my mind, I have had this nagging voice saying that if alcoholism is a disease, then my kids will inherit it. Therefore, I must be ever vigilant to that possibility. This book has given me the confidence to go back to my "use your common sense" philosophy of child rearing. In particular, I now know exactly how I will deal with the issues of alcohol and drugs as they grow up. In addition, I will calm down about my daughter's total pre-occupation with her "fat" body (a pre-occupation which has led to the suggestioin that my 9 yearold needs "treatment" even though she has never done anything other than complain that she is fat). This book has allowed me to look at this as a totally normal adolescent behavior that she will most likely "mature out of." I do not want to over react and create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other issue the book addresses which really hit home is the subject of "missing children". I look back on my childhood and know that I had much more freedom than my kids have been allowed. Nevertheless, I have been criticized for giving my children as much freedom as I do. I trust my children, and I teach them about personal safety. I cannot shield them until they leave for college, and then expect them to function as adults. This book puts these issues and others into perspective. Peele backs up his statements with realistic statistics. He also exposes the areas in which conventional wisdom is based on the misuse and/or fabrication of statistics. The statistics that are presented here raise some serious questions about the efficacy and appropriateness of the treatment industry in America. I am going to give copies of this book to at least five people, and probably more.