Drugs and alcohol along with other addictive behaviours have become a way of life and as such have an ambiguous relationship with society. At their best they can be a pleasurable, recreational distraction from the many cares and woes of modern life. At worse they are a much maligned, misunderstood and costly social parasite that have the extraordinary ability to destroy the lives of not only the user, but also those who care most for his or her well being. Addiction can be instrument of both pleasure and pain and their treatment, like a drug itself, can often be a whirlpool of uncertainty and contradiction.Addiction is a lonely illness; you don't have to face recovery alone: