There are a variety of definitions regarding chemical dependency including:

Drug Misuse is: The taking of any drug which harms or threatens to harm the physical or mental health or social well-being of an individual, of other individuals, or of society at large, or which is illegal.

The Problem Drug Taker is: Any person who experiences social, psychological, physical or legal problems related to intoxication and/or regular excessive consumption and/or dependence as a consequence of his own use of drugs or other chemical substances (excluding alcohol and tobacco).

Drug Dependency is: A state, psychic and sometimes physical, resulting from the interaction between a living organism and a drug, characterised by behavioural and other responses that always include a compulsion to take the drug on a continuous or periodic basis in order to experience its psychic effects and sometimes to avoid the discomfort of its absence. Tolerance may or may not be present. A person may be dependent on more than one drug.

Recently we asked a group of people in training to become volunteers at Hebron Trust for their definition of Chemical Dependency. The following definitions were the result:

•    Compulsion to take part in an activity with little control over choice
•    Person dependant on substance, driven, overwhelms every other responsibility
•    An inability to resist something, not wanting to stop, unable to break the habit, denied behaviour, behaviour takes control
•    A compulsiveness and dependency on something outside of yourself that takes control of your life
Hebron Trust operated for a number of years with the following as a working definition:-
•    Addiction is a sick, love and trust relationship of a person to an object or an event in expectation of a rewarding experience.

The NA Basic Text defines addiction as 'a physical, emotional and spiritual disease that affects every area of our lives.'