When someone has been through the challenges of rehab from addiction, they still have work to do when they return home. Rebuilding relationships with family and loved ones is an important part of addiction recovery and allows people to sustain sobriety for the long-term with their support. Healthy relationships are an important aspect of life for all of us and can include family, professional, romantic and social connections.

Despite our better understanding of addiction, there are still many people holding on to misconceptions about what classifies a person as an addict. This is for a variety of reasons including the negative way addiction is covered by mainstream media and its connection with a loss of moral control. In fact, addiction is an illness that develops over time. In this article, we take a look at the difference between a person who abuses substances from time to time and someone who developed addiction illness.