FOR PEOPLE WITH SEVERE ADDICTIONS, THE ADDICTIONS, AND THEIR ASSOCIATED BEHAVIORS, FEEL LIKE BREATHING: AUTOMATIC, CYCLIC, THOUGHTLESS, NATURAL, AND NEEDED FOR LIFE. THIS IS WHY, WHEN AN ADDICT PROMISES THEMSELVES, AND OTHERS, THAT THEY CAN QUIT (and that they will quit, when they are, “good and ready”), IT IS AS IF THEY HAVE PROMISED TO HOLD THEIR BREATH. THEY MAY BE ABLE TO DO IT FOR A WHILE, BUT, EVENTUALLY, EVERY SEVERE ADDICT WILL RELAPSE. THEY HAVE TO BREATHE.