People with an addiction cannot decrease their use or stop when they want and experience the negative consequences. Each behaviour or action that is meant to gratify oneself or that occurs to avoid inner discourse, and that is done in a compulsive manor, can lead to addiction.
Addiction is a progressive illness that cannot be healed but that can be stopped at a certain point. It is a disease that damages you on four levels, namely: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Addiction and denial go hand in hand. The addict is not able to admit they cannot stop using the substance or behaving a certain way. Without treatment the effects of addiction will have a disastrous impact on relationships, health, social contacts, work, education, concentration, finances and self image. Furthermore, the spiritual impact can be very threatening to the entire being. People can lose all faith in life, their self esteem, and see no solutions to improve their situation or to free themselves from this all encompassing disease, hence losing all faith.
