The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, discomfort or some form of emotional or physical pain a person is experiencing. Addicts find this very difficult to deal with. We start off with an individual who, like most people in our society, is basically good. this person encounters a problem or discomfort that they do no know how to resolve or cannot confront. This could include problems such as difficulty "fitting in" as a child or teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure or work expectations, identity problems or divorce as an adult. It can also include physical discomfort, such as an injury or chronic pain. The person experiencing the discomfort has a real problem. He or she feels his present situation in unendurable, yet sees no good solution to the problem. Everyone has experienced this in their life to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between an addict and the non addict is that the addict chooses drugs or alcohol as a solution to the unwanted problem or discomfort.

This person tries drugs or alcohol. The drugs APPEAR to solve problem. He feels better. Because he now SEEM better able to deal with life, the drugs become valuable to him. The person looks on drugs or alcohol as a cure for unwanted feelings. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become a solution to their discomfort inadvertently the drug or alcohol now becomes valuable because it helped them feel better. This release is the main reason a person uses drugs or drinks a second or third time. It is just a matter of time before he becomes fully addicted and loses the ability to control his drug use. drug addiction, then, results from excessive or continued use of physiologically habit-forming drugs in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort or unhappiness.

Analogous to an adolescent child in his first love affair, the use of drugs or alcohol becomes obsessive. The addicted person is trapped. whatever problem he or she was initially trying to solve by using drugs or alcohol fades from memory. At this point, all he can think about is getting and using drugs. He or she loses the ability to control his usage and disregards the horrible consequences of his actions.

The addict will now attempt to withhold the fact of his drug use from friends and family members. He or she will begin to suffer the effects of his own dishonesty and guilt. He or she may become withdrawn and difficult to reason with. He or she may behave strangely. The more a person uses drugs and alcohol, the guiltier they will feel, and the more depressed they will become. They will sacrifice their personal integrity, their relationships with friends and family, their job, their savings, and anything else they may have in an attempt to get more drugs. The drugs are now the most important thing in their life. Their relationships and job performance will go drastically downhill.

In addition to the mental stress created by this unethical behavior, the addict's body has also adapted to the presence of the drugs. He or she will experience and overwhelming obsession with getting and using their drugs, and will do anything to avoid the pain of withdrawing from them. This is when the newly-created addict begins to experiences drug cravings. He or she will now seek drugs both for the reward of the "pleasure" they give them, and also to avoid the mental and physical horrors of withdrawal. Ironically, the addict's ability to get "high" from the alcohol or drug gradually decreases as their body adapts to the presence of foreign chemicals. They must take more and more, not just to get and effect but often just to function at all.

At this point, the addict is stuck in a vicious dwindling spiral. The drugs they abuse have changed them both physically and mentally. He or she has crossed an invisible and intangible line. They are now a drug addict or alcoholic.

There is such a thing as a "drug personality." It is artificial and is created by drugs. Drugs can change the attitude of a person from their original personality to one secretly harboring hostilities and hatreds they do not permit to show on the surface.

The drug personality includes such characteristics as:

• Mood swings
• Unreliable.
• Unable to finish projects
• Unexpressed resentment and secret hatreds
• Dishonesty. Lies to family, friends, employers
• Withdraws from those who love him. Isolates self
• May appear chronically depressed
• May begin stealing from family and friends