In Order to enter Recovery we must first understand what makes drugs addictive and why do they consume an addicts or alcoholics life.

It is estimated each year thousands of people suffer from an addiction to a controlled substance. Whether the person is dependent upon alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, or prescription drugs obtained through legal or illegal means, the fact remains that an addiction can cause a number of health risks if not treated. Mental disorders, skin lesions, heart problems, and even death have been attributed to varying levels of drug abuse.

In my own opinion I believe addiction, whether sex, gambling, drugs, booze, mouthwash, whatever, is a disease. I believe it is a family disease, somewhere in our bloodline there is or was another one of us or many of us. Certainly it was not discussed and kept very secretive only until recently. I was astonished at the amount of family members with this disease in my family when I spoke to my grandfather a few months back. Causes of death included.

We have a predisposition or ‘’allergy’ to any mood altering substance that once it enters our body, an immediate mental obsession, physical addiction and coping mechanism turns on, if you will. We were born without a choice. I believe you do not take too many drugs and become an addict, I believe once a drug enters an addicts body, the disease begins its individual pathway, however long that may take or what it will entail. I know for proven fact, if not helped, addiction only leads to three things; Jails, Institutions and Death. Fact.

People may become initially addicted to drugs through various circumstances. Medical Recovery from an unrelated condition may lead to a patient developing a dependence on painkillers, while peer pressure contributes to the regular drug abuse habits starting in young people. Stress of everyday life may coax people into drinking or taking depressants, while others driven to succeed may seek help with stimulants and feed the addiction.

You can enter and live in the solution of recovery for life, in one simple way. Complete abstinence. Because this disease is for life and progressive even while your not active in the disease. Waiting. tic, toc, tic, toc.

While much has been written on what leads people into drug and alcohol abuse, not everybody facing these problems or dealing with a loved one who is an addict understands exactly what it is the outlining chemistry that causes people to become dependent. My opinion and theory’s come strictly from former users and doctors.

There are many many theory’s. What works for you, is then the right understanding. Because at the end of the day all we need to know is it’s killing our children quickly and killing active adult users painfully and slowly.

With certain drugs, depending on the user, there are elements involved that create an imbalance in the body that causes it to need more of the drug in order to function. The addictive nature of drugs isn't always related to the glamor or rebellion associated with certain substances. In many cases, once a drug grabs hold of an addict, it becomes almost impossible to escape.

Take cocaine, for example. Cocaine is a stimulant that was once used legally in medicine until discovery of its addictive qualities and risks to health forced legislation to make it illegal. Use of cocaine increases the amount of dopamine and serotonin in the brain - these chemical substances regulate feelings of pleasure in the body, and as they are stimulated so are those feelings of euphoria. Anyone who would choose to feel happy all the time and experiments with cocaine, methamphetamine, or a similar drug may find it difficult to want to give up that high.

For people who have trouble sleeping and relaxing, dependency on depressants like alcohol and prescription painkillers build the desire to remain in a constant comfortable, almost "stoned" state. The problem with constant use of any drug, though, is that many health problems are associated with overuse. Liver failure, a weakened immune system, and heart failure are some of the more severe conditions brought on by drug abuse.

It is important, therefore, if you are aware of a loved one abusing drugs, to seek professional help as soon as possible. Regardless of the situation that leads a person into addiction, all paths can take that person down a dangerous slope to poor health, poor finances, and worse if not treated. Once you know what drugs can do to a person, it is necessary to help your loved ones find some recovery from drugs before too much damage is done.

Stephanie Loebs is the executive director of Williamsburg Place, one of the top drug rehab clinics in the nation. Williamsburg Place aids those who suffer from drug and/or alcohol addiction, and specializes in caring for health care professionals. For over twenty years Williamsburg Place and its joint rehabilitation center, the William J. Farley Center, have helped thousands of people from all walks of life take back their lives and overcome substance abuse.

Kimberly Gray: www.dearaddict.ca