3 The concept that substance dependency is an illness is not, however, universal. Some would argue that dependency is not an illness due to the fact that: Dependency is not transmissible or infectious. Addiction is not autoimmune, hereditary, or degenerative. Dependency is self-acquired, indicating the individual provides the condition to himself. Proponents of this way of thinking put much more emphasis on the social and environmental aspects of addictionone advocate declares that dependencies might be "treated" by locking addicts in a cell where there is no access to substancesinstead of on the brain modifications that occur as an outcome of compound abuse.For instance, it is true that most compound abuse begins with a choice (although in a lot of cases compound use started with a prescription from a physician for a real medical issue and developed into abuse). But while no one forced an addicted individual to start misusing a substance, it's hard to picture somebody would voluntarily destroy their health, relationships, and other major areas of their lives.