Hiya. Today, I want to talk about a topic that affects far more people than we might

realise, and that's addiction. I recently had a message from a listener asking if I'd

spoke much about it before, and although I've mentioned it in passing, I'd never really

explored it in depth. And the more of thought about it, the more I realised,

understanding addiction is something that could benefit everybody.

Because addiction isn't just about drugs or alcohol.

Almost anything can become addictive.

Food, shopping, social media, making podcasts episodes, and while people sometimes joke about being

addicted to chocolate or Netflix or making podcast episodes, true addiction is something very

different. It's not a choice. One of the most important things to understand

is that addiction is not an identity. It's a behaviour. People will often say things like,

I have an addictive personality or I'm just weak. But addiction isn't about weakness. It's a way

of coping. It serves a purpose. And that's why it's

difficult to stop. Because even when somebody knows their behaviour is harming them, they keep doing it.

And it's not for pleasure. It's for relief from pain. So rather than chasing pleasure,

people who drink too much, gamble excessively or overeat, aren't doing it

because they love doing it. The addiction isn't about feeling good, it's about not feeling bad.

Numbing discomfort, stress, loneliness or self-doubt even for just a little while, and that's

why breaking free from addiction is hard.

If you take away the behaviour but the underlying emotional struggle is still there, you're left

without a way to cope. And that's why people who quit smoking often find themselves eating more.

Not because nicotine and food are the same thing. It's because they both provide a distraction from

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