Addiction and Behavior change

Addiction is a state of mind in which a person is unable to resist certain actions. It can have cognitive (pertaining to thoughts), emotional, behavioral components. In the case of chemical substances it can have physiological component as well.
People generally equate addiction with the use of such drugs. Fame, sex, money, power and even pain can be addictive (Imagine the situation of a person with a tendency to inflict pain on himself and enjoy this - a state called masochism).
Why do we get addicted ? In neurobiological terms pleasure is thought to be a sensation derived from the release of a chemical called dopamine in certain areas of the brain. This area is called Nucleus Accumbens and is a part of limbic system - the area that processes emotions.
The most powerful releaser of dopamine at this site now available are the opiate drugs. That is why this class of drugs are highly addictive. A person used to this kind of intense pleasure (!) is unable to derive pleasure from lesser amounts of dopamine release, which is caused by the usual little day to day pleasures.
But imagine an addict shutting out himself from the rest of the world, injecting himself in some dark and shabby alley, and experiencing this so called 'pleasure'!. Is it real pleasure ?. Even if it is pleasure, I think it is of the most selfish kind - a pure chemical phenomenon.
A great amount of effort is needed to get rid of any form of addictions. After the emergence of HIV infections, the importance of behavior change has come into prominence. Behavior change techniques can be helpful in this situation. These techniques understand the maladaptive behavior as the result of several variables. The person's subjective attitude, the response he gets for his efforts to change himself etc are all important.