One useful way of looking at a life lived within the confines of active addiction is that it is a life lived badly. While everybody has some addictive patterns—they are a part of the healthy human experience—there comes a time when our attachment to them necessarily pulls us away from the possibility of living life consciously, to life’s fullest. Sometimes this is very obvious to us and to all who know us, sometimes it is more subtle and up to us to be aware of and admit these patterns to ourselves.