No one wants to be addicted to drugs, but that doesn't stop people from becoming addicted. The most common questions asked by friends, family and even the addicts themselves are:
“How did this happen?"
Why won't they (or I) stop?"

Understanding how the answers is happens is the key to recovery.

How it Starts
The first thing to understand is that alcohol and drugs are basically "painkillers." They "kill" physical and emotional pain.

For many people, drugs become attractive due to unhappiness, sense of hopelessness, overwhelming problems or even physical pain. Pressure from peers even boredom can also be factors in trying drugs and alcohol, but they don't cause addiction.

Drugs and alcohol alter the brain’s chemistry, and create an artificial sense of pleasure or well-being. Often this leads to a craving for more of the substance--the craving itself is very real. You’ve probably seen how addicts lose touch with reality. This is a result of living with addiction. That can make it difficult to talk sensibly with an addict, because what is real to family or friends has no genuine meaning for the addict.

Why Addicts Can’t Stop
The "way of thinking" caused by drug addiction and the lifestyle an addict adopts to get drugs and live with a drug habit are deeply intertwined. One feeds the other. Both must be recognized and dealt with before an addict can free himself. He can say ‘no” a thousand times, but it takes just one “yes” to start the addiction cycle again.

Craving And Relapse
Drugs break down in the liver into substances called metabolites. They’re removed quickly from the blood stream, but become trapped in the body’s fatty tissues, often for years. When an addict tries to quit, his brain has become accustomed large amounts of metabolites but now must deal with vastly decreased amounts. Withdrawal symptoms are the brain’s “demands” that the addict give it more of the drug.

This powerful craving can cause an addict to create all manner of “reasons” that they should begin using drugs again. This contributes to an endless cycle of attempts to quit, craving, relapse and fear of withdrawal. The presence of even small amounts of metabolites can cause the brain to react as though the addict had again actually taken the drug. So the craving and relapse cycle can begin even after years of being “clean and sober.”