Alcohol and drug abuse is the source of many problems for those who are engaged in addictive behaviours. One of the earliest casualties from substance abuse will be intimacy. It is very difficult for people to abuse mind-altering substances on a regular basis and maintain healthy relationships. As a person falls deeper and deeper into addiction, it will completely take over their life and there will be little room for anyone else. As people become more disconnected from their true feelings and needs, due to suppression by substances, they become less able to communicate them in their relationships, which in turn become more superficial and less gratifying.