addiction

Addiction is a term used to describe a situation where someone feels that they have to use a substance just to be able to feel normal. Although not entirely accurate, it can be useful to think about dependence or addiction in two ways:

Physical addiction: Drugs like heroin and tranquillisers work by changing the way your body works. The more you take, the more you'll need to feel normal and before too long your body will physically require the drug to function. Withdrawing from substances causes unpleasant physical effects. These include severe flu like symptoms for heroin, and fits and convulsions that are potentially fatal for alcohol and tranquillisers. Physical withdrawal should be carefully managed.