Reply #30: Well, I would say SPK has a very good point actually

[skygazer]

There are different types of pains, and different types of drugs, and there are different types of addictions.

For instance, I began using some pretty gnarly street drugs because I was in total despair, trapped in a relationship with a man I was afraid of, who hurt me, who threatened to kill me and who I was afraid to leave because I knew he would track me down and carry out all his threats.

I hid in drug and alcohol use, not uncommon for battered women. You have to find some peace somewhere.

But I ended up drowning in an addiction that I finally realized had the potential to kill me. Kicking the addiction damn near killed me.

When I began using, the drugs helped me make it through the day. I was using so I could function. By the time I quit, I was no longer functioning; my life was wrapped up entirely in where I was going to get my next fix. And I required that next fix sooner and sooner.

So yeah, I was certainly suffering physical harm, the addiction had superceded the pain it was originally taken for and I was in big trouble.

Your point that addictions are almost always caused by pain is right on, but it is also true that the addiction can become a very big problem as well.