Drug is a chemical compound which, when taken into the body, changes the body's metabolism. But obviously not everyone who takes drugs is an addict. The inherent overpowering nature of the drug per se, was that no person could resist the pull of the drugs: the one - shot -and -you -are -gone -syndrome. After the 1940's (especially in the USA) this biological disease concept was revised. The old addiction-in-the-drug model considered the source of addiction as being in the drug itself. The new theory of addiction as being inherent in people who were susceptible to addiction to drugs because of (unknown) factors in their personality is being mooted.

That addiction is not an inherent characteristic of drugs or people, but of person's response to a particular type of experience. The main problem with most past and continuing research on addiction, is that it locates the source of addiction in the wrong place.

Addiction does not come from a drug; it begins with the person, his or her situation and that person's search for a given experience.

This is a much broader and more unified understanding of addiction:

Addiction as a very personal, subjective response to a given experience; a result of behavior, not necessarily inherent in any person or substance. But the main question we still have to solve is this: what exactly is the mechanism causing the tendency to increase the dose, resulting in repeated consumption of drugs? Initially, taking the drug is pleasant experience, giving one the feeling of being relieved from anxiety, when in actual fact those things in life which cause anxiety grow more server. Drugs lessen the person's ability to cope with life's difficulties. It is here that the vicious circle of drug addiction starts, with the dialectic of relief and slavery as its driving force. This is certainly more complex than mere physical dependence.

The key to diagnosis of addictive disease is in the observation that the patient persists in using drugs in spite of the consequences. It also means that taking away the drug would not solve the problem of drug addiction.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
- Booker T. Washington

Webster defines alcoholism as “the habitual drinking of alcoholic liquor to excess, or a diseased condition caused by this.”

Drug and alcohol abuse or dependence can develop either quickly or progressively over your life. Initially, drinking may not appear to be any different from the way others drink. Some people drink occasionally but drink a lot. As time goes by, you may turn into a compulsive drinker, and this becomes a way for you to feel “normal” or to “cope with life's” problems.

Contrary to what addicts think, alcohol and drugs do not enable you to regain control of a life that has gone awry. They decrease the ability to solve life conflicts within yourself and also creating a void between yourself and the world.

Helping a victim off drugs/alcohol is not easy. It does not matter which method one takes to end the alcohol or drug addiction. It's your choice, your life. You must decide for yourself, no one else can do anything for you, except give you emotional support. There are 2 aspects that need to be changed and both these depend on the person using alcohol or drugs, and no one else!

Firstly, the addict has to decide that he/she wants to change. Although this sounds obvious, the question that is rarely asked is, “Do you want to stop drinking or using drugs?” It is clear that the addict wants to improve or that they are "in denial" and labeled defiant.

Secondly, addict has to be confident and must think he/she can change. Which means, the alcohol or drug user has to believe their life will improve by ending their addictive behavior.
A failure is someone who has given up trying not someone who has not succeed in earlier attempts at "sobriety".