Section 1 Experience of addiction

Vignette “I’m a junkie,” Natalie said. “That’s the word. The other night, I had a dream. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to let this happen. You know? Because I know all about it. I know and this isn’t the part that’s going to kill you. Heroin, that’s the easy part. This isn’t the bad part. Getting beat up and whatnot—that’s easy. The bad part’s what comes after and knowing you’re going to live through it. That’s the bad part and I know all about it.”

 From “Network”, in TM McNally The Gateway. Southern Methodist University Press 2007

The purpose of this section is to understand the world of substance use, dependence and addiction from the patient's perspective