Alcohol, cigarettes, drugs … addictive substances have always been used by mankind, how it is verified by historical findings. As a consequence of this, there have always been affected individuals, that had problems due to their substance use and thus stand out in their family, at work or in society.

New to this issue is, that in the last decades, science has found out a lot about the concept of the development of addictions, whereby a greater understanding about addiction as an illness has evolved. Naturally no one is born with the desire “to become an alcoholic” or “to  be on the needle” later on in life … within this 50 year long cognition process, many approaches were developed, about how affected people can be supported individually and differentiated, how they can gain back control over their lives and therefore they are not at the mercy of consuming and the withdrawals, that quickly set in.

But in reality, the knowledge about addictions is not very widespread. People who have no control about their alcohol consumption is considered as a “not hard drinking person” and as a loser, and either the affected person is too cool or too weak to quit. Likewise, excessive playing of computer games does not attract much attention for a long time, just like a comparatively quiet addiction for medication. As a consequence of that, affected individuals reach the addiction aid systems after a long delay and an so the incurred damage to themselves and others is already substantial.

To change this often year long lasting path of solitude with addiction problems, we want to contribute actively by distributing information about addiction disorders. The fundamental idea behind this is a humanist philosophy, which puts the ability of the individual into the spotlight, to make a positive change. We hope to, that our work contributes to reducing the time of hiding, deceiving, the time of frustration and damage for affected individuals, but also for others. After all, drug addictions can be treated – but only, if a treatment is initiated.