[The trap of addiction--reflections on the substitute of happiness].

This essay is a set of concepts concerning human nature with its intrinsic move towards happiness and positive balance of feelings. One of the methods of obtaining pleasure is the use of psychoactive substances. This infallible method becomes a trap. The aim of our work was to present the reader how significant the positive emotions and the ways of obtaining them in our every day life are. In our world of mind and knowledge we often depreciate the role of positive emotions. Suddenly, being embedded in crisis, we seek the easiest way to get the positive state back. This paper presents various models of addiction with the emphasis of the psychosocial model. Self-sustaining vicious circle mechanisms disintegrate slowly every single sphere of ones personality. The social functioning of the individual is also influenced by the addiction. The authors emphasize the disadvantageous influence of social and civilization changes on the decrease in the amount of positive emotions experienced by the individuals accompanied by the simultaneous increase in "academic intelligence" in developed societies. To describe that phenomenon the authors propose the concept of "civilization cross".