Addiction begins with a whisper in the back of the mind: “I’ll try it once. It’s just for fun. I can stop whenever I want.” Drug use can easily get out of control, however, becoming a monster that destroys lives and whole societies.

What causes addiction? What reactions does it produce in people who take drugs? In the original production MI ADICCION, MI MALDICION, Discovery en Espanol answers these and other questions through the personal testimony of people who have lived the dramatic process of addiction first hand. The six-episode documentary series airs Fridays at 11PM E / 8PM P, beginning July 25.

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Focusing on Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, the documentary series profiles real cases of recovering addicts who recount in detail how they first started taking drugs; how they managed to escape spiral of alcohol, cocaine and hallucinogens; and their day-to-day battles to avoid relapses.

What comes through is the strength of character and love of life the protagonists find within themselves when they decide to leave behind the living hell of addiction and begin the road to recovery.

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In addition to these moving testimonies, MI ADICCION, MI MALDICION draws on the opinions of doctors, therapists and psychologists, who explain in scientific terms what happens during the process of addiction and the chain of reactions and damages drugs produce in the human body and brain.

In the first episode, set in Mexico, viewers meet Julio Pradera, a college graduate with a degree in business administration who loves music and playing the guitar. Despite everything he has going for him, Julio falls into a cycle of addiction that causes him to lose it all: his friends, family, money and will to live.

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Another case profiled in the production is that of Colombian writer and journalist Aura Lucia Mera, a woman passionate about her life and career. This same passion takes her deep into a nightmare of addiction. Nearly two decades of alcohol and cocaine abuse end her career and estrange her from her children.

Discovery en Espanol is the Spanish-language channel of Discovery. The network offers programming in the areas of science and technology, world culture and history, nature and wildlife as well as real-life drama.

Photo courtesy: Discovery en Espanol