In the article "Abstinence" by Ray Hoskins (Slife, 1994) it is stated that abstinence is the only way that a person with an addiction can recover. On the other hand Michael S. Levy states in his article "Individualized Care For The Treatment Of Alcoholism" (Slife, 1994) that abstinence may not the best way to treat an addiction, but that the best way to treat an addiction depends on each individuals specific needs. It is clear that the only way a person can strive and conquer an addiction is to completely distance themselves from the cause of that addiction, in the case of an alcoholic; they must distance themselves from alcohol.
             To understand abstinence we must first understand what the terms addict and addiction mean. According to Webster's Dictionary (1996) addict is defined as, "surrendering (oneself) habitually or compulsively to something, as caffeine or alcohol."
             To break down this definition, we can say that an addict is a person that creates a habit on relying on a substance (alcohol) or an act (sex). With the understanding of what an addict is we can define addiction as a state of mind where one depends upon a substance (alcohol) or an act (sex) that affects their daily life in some form, usually in a negative way. For example in Levy's "Individualized Care For The Treatment Of Alcoholism" (Slife, 1994) case vignette 5 states; "L...a 30 year old, married male...described his drinking most every day, but was most concerned about his heavy drinking with loss of control, which generally occurred three times a week." In this case we can see that L was showing signs of addiction towards alcohol in the ways that he formed a habit, drinking everyday, and it affected his life, losing control.
             When a person does become addicted to a substance such as alcohol the only way to successfully stop the addiction is through the means of abstinence, or stopping completely ...