Anyone on here watch the show "Intervention" on A&E? That show is the perfect example of how addiction can effect certain people. Just this week there was a lady on there who had been an alchoholic for twenty some odd years. To me, addiction is real..it's a disease like cancer that can effect someone greatly and their families. What is interesting is that the family suffers along with the person who is addicted. If the person who is addicted is upset, then they can turn to alchohol, drugs or food, whereas the family members just suffer privately without any substance at all.