Most of us have fallen into problematic habits. They seem benign at first, but soon begin to wiggle out of our control, taking on a life of their own. They turn into parasites, sucking the life out of us, twisting our lives out of shape. Alcoholism is the poster child of this kind of wayward habit. As the old Japanese saying goes, “First the man takes a drink; then the drink takes a drink; then the drink takes the man.”

In the later stages of alcoholism, it’s clear that the habit is running the show. Because we passionately believe we are the sole architects of our fate, we are primed to view alcoholics as selfish, irresponsible, or weak-willed.

But what if that way of understanding is all wrong? What if alcoholism is a genuine disease – a disease of our behavior rather than our bodies? What if one of our habits can turn parasitic, in the same way a cell turns parasitic to cause cancer?

In this podcast Deep Divers Mark and Jenna evaluate this idea in a lively discussion based on Tom Whitehead’s upcoming book, Reimagining Psychology.