When someone becomes addicted and relentlessly pursues the substance, their behaviors radically change and their family and friends become obstacles to getting what their brain is now craving. Most addicts are deeply in denial about their disease, are not thinking about the impact of what they are doing on themselves and certainly not thinking about how the disease and their behaviors affect those around them. Families experience tension, miscommunication, frequent arguments and an increasing level of stress and fear as the addict’s disease progresses.