| When we think about addiction to drugs
or alcohol, we frequently focus on negative aspects, ignoring the pleasures that
accompany drinking or drug-taking. {{U}}(21) {{/U}}the essence of any
serious addiction is a pursuit of pleasure, a search for a "high" that normal
life does not{{U}} (22) {{/U}}. It is only the inability to function{{U}}
(23) {{/U}}the addictive substance that is dismaying, the dependence
of the organism upon a certain experience and a(n){{U}} (24)
{{/U}}inability to function normally without it. Thus a person will take two
or three{{U}} (25) {{/U}}at the end of the day not merely for the
pleasure drinking provides, but also because he "doesn't feel{{U}} (26)
{{/U}}" without them. {{U}} (27) {{/U}}does not merely pursue a pleasurable experience and need to{{U}} (28) {{/U}}it in order to function normally. He needs to repeat it again and again. Something about that particular experience makes life without it{{U}} (29) {{/U}}complete. Other potentially pleasurable experiences axe no longer possible, {{U}}(30) {{/U}}under the spell of the addictive experience, his life is peculiarly{{U}} (31) {{/U}}. The addict craves an experience and yet he is never really satisfied. The organism may be{{U}} (32) {{/U}}sated, but soon it begins to crave again. Finally a serious addiction is{{U}} (33) {{/U}}a harmless pursuit of pleasure by its distinctly destructive elements. A heroin addict, for instance, leads a{{U}} (34) {{/U}}life: his increasing need for heroin in increasing doses prevents him from Working, from maintaining relationships, from developing in human ways. {{U}}(35) {{/U}}an alcoholic's life is narrowed and dehumanized by his dependence on alcohol. |