Sometimes, in our society these afflictions may be viewed as a moral deficiency. We believe that those who suffer from the disease of addiction are no more in control of it than if they had diabetes or another chronic illness. However, there are steps that an individual can take to arrest the disease and begin to lead a happy, productive and responsible life. Just as an individual can take insulin to arrest their diabetes so an addict or alcoholic can take steps to arrest their disease.
Addiction is a physical, mental and spiritual disease that affects every area of a persons life.
It affects their thinking, feelings, belief systems, relationships with others and their self and world view. Total abstinence from all drugs and alcohol is the cornerstone of our teaching. We have seen this bear itself out many many times over in our work. If a person returns to using at any time, they seem to pick up where they would have been if they had never stopped. Many times this leads to greater and more accelerated destruction than they had thought possible.