A. Here, there are several schools of thought.

Many people believe that “once an addict, always an addict” and therefore restarting any use whatsoever will eventually lead to addiction.  The notion that addiction is a progressive, deteriorating condition, is consistent with this type of thinking.

There are others who feel that addiction may be a “temporary obsession” and that once the obsession is cleared, one can safely begin to use or do the activity that has led to trouble in the past.  This is a risky notion, and the addicted person who then goes on to use casually seems to be rare, but possibly existent.

The idea that one has to quit “forever” can be an overwhelming concept, however, and therefore the notion of “stopping for today” is very useful for the people who fear never being able to use or do the activity that is central to the addiction.

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:created by DrFred and last updated by DrFred on 2007-12-17 02:13:50 - viewed 258 times