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    'The Urge' says calling addiction a disease is misleading

    A psychiatrist says calling it a disease takes important attention away from racism and other things that are often associated with addiction.
    by Jeevika Verma Jan 20, 2022 4 minutes
    Carl Erik Fisher, psychiatrist and author of <em>The Urge: A History of Addiction</em>.

    Just after graduating from medical school, Carl Erik Fisher was on top of the world. He was winning awards and working day and night. But a lot of that frantic activity was really covering up his problems with addiction.

    Fisher – who says he comes from a family with a history of addiction – descended into an alcohol and Adderall binge during residency. A manic episode led to his admission to the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatry ward in New York, where just years ago, he'd interviewed for residency.

    "Because I was a doctor, because I'm white, because when the NYPD came to get me out of my

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