Depression is another factor that keeps an addict harnessed in his addiction. Depression is the source of a constant and significant amount of discomfort that prompts continued drug use. It is also the second major barrier to recovery for those seeking treatment for their addictions.

Some of the traditional medical- and psychiatric-based programs diagnose and treat the depression an addict is experiencing, claiming that it is the fundamental cause of the person's drug or alcohol problem. Psychotropic medications are usually prescribed for depression but simply mask symptoms. They do not bring about a cure. When the medications wear off, depression returns, often magnified. The presence of mind-altering drugs and worsening depression makes the recovery process more difficult, if not impossible.

In most cases, depression actually manifests itself after the person becomes addicted, not before. The cause of the depression is linked to the damage done by the drugs themselves.

There are physical, social and mental factors at work creating the depression and lethargy (laziness, sluggishness and apathy) experienced by addicts. On a physical level, most addicts are in a declining or poor state of health. While they are high, they are in a euphoric, pain-free state of mind. They are numb to the damage being caused by their drug or alcohol use. When they become sober, they have no energy and their minor aches and pains intensify. They are physically spent as a result of the severe nutritional deficiencies that accompany long-term drug or alcohol use.

Socially, the person's quality of life has declined to a low level. The addict is so obsessed with finding drugs or alcohol and using them so he can function that he can't focus on anything else. Consequently, jobs are lost, businesses are destroyed, marriages break up and children are neglected. On a mental level, they have difficulty finding joy or happiness in anything while they are not under the influence. At some point, an addict surrenders to the idea that they must be high to experience any emotions, they must be high to celebrate an accomplishment, to escape sadness, to solve problems, enjoy sex, have meaningful relationships, work or play. The addict truly believes and operates on this principle, numb to the fact that the quality of his life and relationships with others are actually on a down trending spiral.