Course Textbook:  Understanding Addictive Disease-A Tool for Preventing Relapse, textbook written by Terry Gorski and Merlene Miller.

Understanding the nature and characteristics of addictive disease can help addicted people avoid relapse. Many people fail to recover not for lack of trying but because of their limited understanding. Knowledge about the way addiction affects their physical bodies, behavior, and thought processes can provide a valuable tool for recovering people.

Addiction begins when a person predisposed to chemical dependency begins using mood-altering chemicals.  The chemicals provide a unique state of well-being called euphoria, which allows a person to feel better without having to think better or act better.  Chemical use, whether it is alcohol or other drugs, allows the chemically dependant person to bypass the normal steps of emotional growth.