Addiction is a beast that is hard to slay. Full and lasting recovery is difficult and never guaranteed. Those who are most likely to succeed at recovery are those who have a support system of people who will encourage without shaming them, understand without enabling them. I have seen the ugly face of detox in the context of a jail, seen the physical and mental pain of coming down from a high or up from a low. It's never pretty. On some rare occasions, I have seen people take back control of their lives and make choices that have a high probability of preventing relapse. Those are bright moments.

In the jail context, it seems relatively easy for addicts to admit to their addictions, but my observation of people outside the jail is that they hide their addictions in myriad ways, avoiding the first step to recovery: admission. Besides substance abuse addictions, there are behavioral addictions such as food, sex, porn, gambling, lying, internet (hello, social media), work, even exercise. Not many people I know would voluntarily share that they have any of those addictions - too much social judgement and shaming and blaming.

In general, addiction is described as any behavior (or substance) that becomes an obligation and overshadows other important life tasks. In that definition, it is easy to see that things like work, computing, social media, eating, and exercise are not necessarily addictions. They become so only when the person doing them feels that they must be engaged in the behavior in order to feel okay. Twenty hours a day on social media, to the exclusion of eating, sleeping, working, etc - that's an addiction.

Fortunately, I couldn't find anything in professional literature that lists writing poetry as an addiction, so I plan to keep at it - but only when the inspiration strikes.

To those who are struggling with addiction of any kind, I offer you my encouragement to find the resources that will help you break it. I've seen the happiness that comes with recovery, and that is my wish for you. Happiness. Peace. Control of your life.