If its in front of you or spoken about often enough whether it be friends or media...your going to be temped more then if you never hear of it.

example steroids in baseball. During the peak of all the talk and constant media attention more H.S and college students started using it and many young men died.

Fuck we can use the bars as an example also.

Khmerhit wrote:i will be clean 2 yrs in sep tember ---life is much better, thank you...

Sincerely, good on you Khmerhit. One day at a time brother.

dagenham wrote: 1.What is the "definitive definition" of addiction?
2.Who wrote the rules on defining addiction?
3.Is the "addiction industry" of doctors, clinics, hospitals and rehabs just an elaborate conspiracy to make profit from the hapless?
4.Why can't people "decide" to drink 15 drinks everyday?
5' Why can't people "decide" to shoot heroin once in awhile?
6.Is there such an animal as an alcoholic? What pattern of drinking determines if someone is an "alleged" alcoholic?

1.Addiction usually means that a person is at mercy of a habitual NEED of a certain thing, in order to escape a painful or mundane existence, in order to feel normal/at ease. In some cases a person with (no apparent issues) may become addicted to a powerful drug simply because they initially enjoy it, but repeat it excessively,then become weak willed through sleep and food deprivation- and thus become dependant upon it. This ISN'T the same as someone who ( for example) has control/ takes drugs for fun and the purpose of hedonism once in a while, and does not depend on them ( because they have a balanced lifestyle). One is 'abuse', the other is 'use'. People can become addicted to/abuse- anything, and an addiction will usually dominate their lives in one form or another, unless it is cured. For the majority of cases, addictions are thus people wrongly 'treating' an underlying 'unease' with a form of 'self medication' that does not address the real issues.
2.Dunno/google it!
3.This is a definate possability. You see if they really wanted to help cure people from their addictions, then they would permit CURES that work. These CURES mostly remain illegal, and only 'treatments' are permitted:Go figure!
4.Most people have sufficient will to decide how to live in a healthy manner. However alcoholics may have a weakened will because they may be lacking in a firm grounding of self love and self responsability.Alcohol just weakens the will, and leaves a weak person in a position where the 'easiest option', ie -more drink- is usually chosen, etc, etc. The cycle continues and they get deeper and deeper.
5.The same applies to heroin, however it also has severe withdrawall symptoms, so the person may be trapped into the habit even if they want to come out of it.
6.Doubt there's any alcoholic animals out there, but we know that rats( like humans), can be trained to become dependant on drugs with addictive profiles. Like i've said, the heart of any addiction is probably just about poor decision making. If that person was to deal with their issues then they wouldn't probably fall so easily, but then again certain drugs have addictive profiles that may dominate humans with weak wills, or even strong people if abused over time. Add to this the complications of a low self esteem, poor support network- based on lack of friends, lack of self love, self esteem, and self awareness of their place/purpose on this planet, and trouble is potentiated.

You see, in today's world many people struggle with the idea of wanting to be a part of what is basically a rat race, they may find modern day life meaningless. Maybe these people with addiction problems may be very sensitive to this. It may be helpful to give these people a healthy sense of love for themselves, others, and to remind them of the gift of life and love and appreciation for one another, that we often forget about in this manic crazed rat race society in which we live in. Perhaps this is a better idea than hitting the escape button with booze, etc: To tell such people that the answer to problems is taking positive action rather than looking for an easy escape, may be transformative, and the key to being cured.

It is generally considered that for a person wishing to be cured of addictions, that firstly the addictive behaviour patterns/substance abuse need to be addressed, and then the underlying causes can be resolved, but the individual must want to be cured.