Posted by viridis on February 16, 2003, at 18:30:22
In reply to Re: Klonopin out of the question? » viridis, posted by jodie on February 16, 2003, at 14:18:33
Hi Jodie,
I know you understand the difference between use and abuse; I just get frustrated by the way the word "addictive" becomes attached to certain meds, reinforcing the idea that they're somehow bad or dangerous.
If you look at the medical definition of addiction, it involves negative consequences, drug-seeking behavior that interferes with one's normal life, escalation of doses, etc. So, in the strict medical sense of the word, "addiction" is inherently a negative thing, even though I agree that in everyday language people often use the term to describe something they like and therefore do often.
So, I'm guessing that you're not really "addicted" to bubble baths (for example, do you find yourself driving across town in the middle of the night to score some Mr. Bubble, missing important meetings because of excessive bathing, and so on?). I know I'm being kind of silly, but my point is just that when we say this or that med is "addictive", it reinforces a misperception and may scare people (and their doctors) away from something that could be very helpful.
Anyway, I certainly don't want to give you a hard time or be over-picky; I'm just sensitive to anything that (even unintentionally) reinforces benzophobia, since these are such useful meds or me and many others.
poster:viridis
thread:200846
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030214/msgs/200988.html