Breaking the Cycle

In German, it would be a devil circle. Well, in English, we'd say it's a vicious circle. And how can we break the cycle? Okay, how can you break this vicious circle? Also, we talk about a downward spiral when we're talking about things getting worse and worse and worse. So for, you know, like a drug addict, after he lost his wife, he just went into a downward spiral of drink and drugs. In this case, it's a virtuous circle because it's a circle that goes round and round. It's very difficult to stop it. But I still wonder which one might be a common expression. What's catch 22 anyway, she