According to mayoclinic.org, drug addiction is dependence on an illegal drug or medication. When addicted, the person may not be able to control their drug use and may continue to use despite the harm it causes. Drug addiction can cause intense cravings for drugs. In 2012, approximately 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older had used an illicit drug or abused a psychotherapeutic medication. Drug addiction is a serious problem that can affect a person's body and mind, there are many factors that lead to addiction and simple treatments to help an addict recover and avoid relapse. There are two types of addictions: psychological and physical. When a person is psychologically addicted they believe they need drugs to live. A user becomes attached to the drug thinking that it is normal during the daily routine. “A user may associate certain actions or rituals with taking drugs” (Nagle 22). Drug addicts think they need to get high before doing certain things. For example, some may get high before eating or before going to bed, they experience a feeling of accomplishment as if they have done something good, the drug rewards their nervous system. Drug users alter the way their brain works with constant use. However, “if a person takes a drug often enough, the brain changes so that it can handle all the changes” (Nagle 16). Just as you can become addicted mentally, your body can become addicted too. This type of addiction is called “physical addiction”. Just like the brain, if you take an illicit drug long enough, your body changes to accept the sensation as "normal." “The body and brain come to accept certain levels of the substance as normal” (Nagle 23). The body will now need more and more…half of paper…addiction and simple treatments to help an addict recover and avoid relapse. The fact that anyone can fall into drug addiction and how dangerous addiction can be should scare everyone away from drugs. Works Cited Gerdes, Louise I., ed. Addiction: opposing points of view. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2005. Print.Henderson, Harry. Drug abuse. New York: Facts On File, 2005. Print.Isralowitz, Richard and Darwin Telias. Drug use, policy and management. Westport, CT:Praeger, 1998. Print.Milhorn, Howard T. Drug and Alcohol Abuse: The Authoritative Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Counselors. New York: Plenum, 1994. Print.Nagle, Jeanne. Everything you need to know about drug addiction. New York: Rosen Pub.Group, 1999. Print.Sussman, Steven Yale. and Susan L. Ames. The social psychology of drug abuse. Buckingham: Open UP, 2001. Print.