Here is where we begin to see how truly serious the disease of chemical dependency is. Nobody has the measles over a lifetime, but once a person becomes chemically dependent, he or she remains so forever. It used to be believed that chemical dependency was "learned" and could therefore be "unlearned". Now we know that this is not so. It is contracted like any other disease, and it never goes away. Fortunately, it can be arrested, and dependent persons can go on to live happy, healthy, productive lives--as long as they abstain from mind or mood altering chemicals. Relapse, the return to drinking or using is an ever present danger; this is another side to the chronicity of the disease.