Why do people call anorexia and alcoholism a disease? Cancer is a disease. Eat more or drink less.?

I just don't get it. People say it is a disease, and then the people that have it blame it on a psychological addictiveness. I bite my nails because of a psychological addictiveness, does that mean I have a disease? Are these people just looking for sympathy for doing what they do?

Sahara- that was a very inciteful answer, and well written and expressed. Thank you. Maybe, monalisa could learn a thing or two from you about getting her point accross.

Are you serious?
I dont think you should go pointing fingers at ppl beore youve been in their situation.
Those things are defined as a disease because there are things that have taken FULL CONTROL over someone's life.
I would highly doubt that biting your nails takes so much control over your life, that if you had a heartattack you would most likely die because you were so anorexic.

Get it?
Go read something lol

This isn't going to help answer your question but they also consider baldness a disease. That is one I can't figure out.

There is a lot we don't know about the brain and its affects. It is still an area being researched and observed.

Alcoholism seems to run in families.

I'm not sure about anorexia. It seems to be a society disease with so much pressure these days on looking good. It seems to matter above all else. Some people do have exceptionally high metabolisms and have trouble keeping on weight no matter how much they eat.

The answer to your question may lie in that for some people, it is a disease. Maybe for some others, it's not. It's just a problem they have as the result of societal pressures. Everyone has an outlet to handle stress. Some are healthy and some aren't.

Alcohol is addictive , its not a disease in the same scenes , you cant quit a disease but you can quit drinking alcohol.They call a # of different things disease so as to get more medical attention and help .so they group them and say its a sickness of the mind .

From What I understand it is a mental disease, kind like Bi Polar, Or over compulsive disorder. But with Alcohol or drugs, you obsess over the dumbness of the effects. Its not about drinking, or the taste. It is about covering up any type of feelings that have occurred. But it is called a disease because it can be hereditary. Or for anorexia, it can also be called morphic disorder. When you look in the mirror and what you see is completely different from what I would see. So being Anorexic would be an action that people do when they see there body (not the way it really looks) and think they are fat/ugly.

I personally don't think that people are looking for an excuse or sympathy. Unless they suffer from this and are doing nothing about it. But if they are trying to "recover" from it then they are taking action on getting better.

If you want more information on it or facts here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_mod...

Please have you ever watched someone suffer with anorexia.Believe me it is a very very sad illness or disease to see some one deteriate from it.They say it is a mental dissorder.For some people to literally starve their selves to death it sounds more of a disease then a attention seeking illness.