If you are really trying to understand alcoholism and drug addiction, and find yourself asking, 'what is drug addiction and what is alcoholism?' hopefully I can help.

So if you are one of those people, hopefully I can help. Now you need to understand that alcoholism and drug addiction can be quite complex to get a handle on.

To understand addiction and alcoholism in depth, you would need to know things like the causes of drug addiction and alcoholism, if alcoholism and addiction is a disease, the hereditary and genetic impact on alcoholism.

But lets take it a step further back first and go deeper than that - so that we really get to the heart of the problem.

Whether you have a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism or drug addiction making you more susceptible - or whether life has just given you a few bad breaks so you use drugs or alcohol to help you cope, which has led you to addiction - there is an underlying reason that explains it all.

And I think it's ultimately an emptiness and lack of wholeness that you feel, which you cover up or try to hide/suppress by using drugs and alcohol. I know - I've been there. You feel disconnected to life and question your purpose, which is something I used to do all the time. Still do actually, but it's not nearly as bad.

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, who has a brilliant explanation for it in his book, Natural Health, Natural Medicine; addiction is not psychological or pharmacological problem and can't be solved using these methods. He says it is at root, a Spiritual Concern, due to the fact that it represents a misdirected attempt at experiencing wholeness, satisfaction and inner completeness.

So in trying to understand, what is drug addiction and what is alcoholism actually? Remember that they are in essence a Spiritual 'problem.' And by doing that, you will be far more effective in treating and recovering from them successfully.