You have probably heard lots of explanations for excessive behavior patterns. "Alcoholics have a different body chemistry." "Smokers go into withdrawal if they don't get cigarettes." "People who are really overweight just eat too much. It's as simple as that!" "Watching so much TV is just a habit you fall into. It's like an addiction after awhile." "She really must be insecure, the way she follows him around like that." “Drug addiction is only for people that have problems and use the drugs as an escape”. We seem to get these opinions from things we have read or seen on TV, or by knowing someone who is, for example, a smoker or an excessive eater. Most explanations, though, are just too simple, especially when you start to ask a few questions and look a little closer.