When people think of addictions, they think of alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. But does anyone think about food, sleep, or other necessities in life? Can one be addicted to food? Most certainly. But what defines the boundary setting apart addiction from life's necessities? To the addicted, the substance used has become a dependency of living, hence the term "substance dependence"; one is dependent upon consuming food and one who is addicted to alcohol is dependent upon its consumption. The defining factor here between these two, however, is choice.
The line between addiction and necessity blurs when one is never presented the option of leaving his addiction. If one smoked for his entire life and never realized he could stop, then why would he ever? At that point, smoking would simply be a small, yet required, part of his every day life. When this happens, when and how does one snap out of it to face the truth?
In the 1999 film, The Matrix, Morpheus offers a choice to the protagonist, Neo, to take two pills with opposing results. In one hand, he held the blue pill, and said, "the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe," while in the other hand was the red pill, where he said, "you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." This was a choice of fantasy versus reality. In the film, Neo chose reality and came to know the harsh truth that came with it. Later on, he asked Morpheus if he could ever return; his answer resulting in another question, "Would you ever want to?"
Do we all have such an opportunity to take a red pill? And if we do, would we take it, knowing full well that we may jeopardize the safety of our dream world by doing so? After realizing the harsh truth of reality, one may indeed be tempted by fantasy, wishing he had taken the blue pill instead, the addiction.
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