Have you ever been in a toxic relationship? Many of us have. How do we know enough is enough? And how are toxic relationships related to addiction?

“I was, in general, terrified of other people; I used drugs for emotional protection and social comfort.”

So writes Maia Szalavitz in her book Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, which interweaves her personal addiction account with science and research supporting the idea of addiction as a learning disorder, and why tough love doesn't work with drug addicts.

Do you trust people? Do you trust yourself? Our trust is usually developed when we're around zero to three years old.  We all go through a very similar psychosocial development in early childhood that forms us as adults. For those suffering from addiction, understanding these psychosocial stages starts the process of recovery.