RE: Why addiction is so hard to beat?
Yep. Addictions never really go away. The symptoms might, but the root remains there.
...Or does it?
What I'm going to say is not based on any evidence, nor from my own experiences or those of others. It is quite literally a theory untested. And I'm offering it for the purpose of discussion and contemplation and maybe even experimentation, so please accept it is that, and that alone.
But I've wondered if it is possible to find those roots and pull them out. I too feel I have behaviours which lead me to get hooked onto things. Although I'll also come clean and say I don't feel I have ever had an 'addiction' as you describe. So I'm not even wanting to come close to comparing my experiences with yours.
But I can certainly relate to moving from one 'thing' to another... which is why I question the notion and ask myself if I have addictions and/or addictive behaviours / personality...
I was told a Taoist saying once by my teacher: "aim for the moon and you may reach the top of the tree" (or words to that effect). My interpretation of that is its better to aim for the big-picture goal, because even if you don't achieve it, the journey to trying may be surprisingly more valuable than the original goal.
Also, great to see you around again... I was wondering where you got too.
Take care, and be kind to yourself... hopefully see you in NM chat...
😊🙏🏽☯️
I think it is possible to perhaps "pull those roots out" as you say, but in doing so, you're basically looking at reformatting your hard-drive, so to speak. The personality that results from pulling them out, will likely be alien to who you are right now. I found one of the roots, I think, a terrible need instilled within me at an extremely young age, and I'm working on correcting that. It's a slow, arduous, excruciating process... but it's working, I think.
However, that doesn't mean that I could ever indulge again, because it would plunge me back into that need. It would most surely retard my progress, and I'm quite tired of that. Much of what I've discovered was on the edge of eruption for decades. That itself is extremely painful to cope with, because I could have spared myself so much misery, and probably would never have become an alcoholic to begin with.
But that's okay, because I'm doing well now. Not perfect, by any means, but well. And that's pretty damn funny to say when you're effectively homeless and destitute. But life is funny that way. The less you need, the more you have. Strange, no? <3