What is the worst possible addiction?

The only addictions I've had were alcohol, gambling, drugs and porn.
They were all equally bad in their own way, in your personal opinion is what is the worst addictions someone can have?

I'd have to say nicotine addiction is right up there. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Statistically speaking, I believe it goes nicotine/smoking, alcohol, prescription painkillers and then all the rest. The government measures it in preventable deaths per year, but there are also financial statistics in terms of impact on GDP, lost productivity, medical costs, etc. We tend to hear more about painkillers, heroin and meth in the news because the stories typically involve members of higher socioeconomic classes or there's violence involved, but nicotine and alcohol continue to march on in the top spots.

I believe innapropriate internet behaviour as it directly crosses boundaries and one is knowingly making a decision to hurt their partner. While other addictions obviously end up involving and hurting a loved one the internet thing hurts them from the get go.

From what I have seen personally, Meth and Pain Pills/Benzos. I've never been much of a meth person bc downers were more my thing but it has taken a lot of friend of mine. Pills, like heroin are terrible because of the Physical sickness on top of the mental addiction.

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Y'all are all going to think I'm crazy for saying this, but the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread is LOVE. Because the intense desire to find love, give love, be loved, the absence of love or a love gone wrong can drive a person to fill that space with any of the other harmful addictions you could possibly name here.

i always find it a bit crazy when people try to say which drug is the worst or which drug is the most addictive...

every drug is the worst for something. a lot of people like to say that quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroin because that is the new buzz-saying.

i always ask them if they have quit heroin and they look at me like i am nuts!

for me, quitting smoking is harder because it easier to justify smoking. less expense, i can still function while smoking, cancer is a long ways off, although the stigma is bad it isnt nearly as bad as being a junkie...

it is also addictive because of what nicotine does to the brain but i believe that that is secondary to a lot of other factors.

also, reason for using the drug? i used heroin so that i could escape the world, to stop both feeling and thinking... stimulants like cocaine only made me feel worse so i never got addicted to cocaine. being naturally obsessive, anxious, hyper, suicidal, drugs like cocaine only made everything worse...

but does that mean cocaine is less addictive? no. it means i am the type of person who prefers depressants.

a lot of interesting addictions research shows more and more that it really has very little to do with the drugs themselves. addiction is not about the drugs... i would mostly agree.

quitting smoking is hard, but hard for different reasons and in different ways than quitting heroin was. people dont go to rehab for quitting smoking....

i believe that the more the addiction is a defense against feeling and being in the world, the harder it is to give up. this is why rehab was more about dealing with my emotions rather than any chemical effect of a drug. old theories about pleasure centres have largely been discarded...

I have tried explaining what you just wrote to my mother until I am blue in the face. She always says "I don't know why you would want to take that stuff and be a junkie" ummm I damn sure never set out to be a junkie in life. I wanted to be a wife, a mother, I was in college for psychology. I have suffered from severe anxiety and depression my entire life, therefore it would only be natural for me to become addicted to benzos and opiates. Because I wanted to escape feelings and be numb. Everyone has a drug of choice. They're all hard to stop.

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Meth.

but yes, smoking/alcohol are subtle/long-term/devastating to self and others.

Oh no! Earworm! You made me think of that Robert Palmer song/video !

Nooooo! nooooo!

Ooh no! My bad! Didn't even think about that, but thanks for sharing! Lol Now it's stuck in MY head!

I heard gambling has the highest suicide rate among addicts.

Many posts have already conflated most addictive with most harmful... And it always depends on the person...

Why does it matter which is worse? It's all bad!

Even if you are addicted to doing good deeds?

Self harm addiction is pretty bad

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There are many different definitions of addiction but every definition involves the existence of harm.

No one would logically call doing good deeds an addiction unless it were causing harm. Some people flippantly call things they do often addiction but I find that a bit irritating.

What about doing good deeds was making the person addicted? That is what I would want to know. Feeling useful? Superior? Distraction? If there isn't some underlying pathology, it is not addiction.

I could see how even doing good deeds could cause harm. People who give away all their money, are manipulated by others, etc...

CRACK!!! for me without a doubt. I am the grips of this horrifying addiction to the devil's candy and I'm feeling hopeless because it seems like no matter how hard i try, I can't stop. It doesn't help my boyfriend of 4 years is an addict to and every time I start doing good, he brings it in front of me and I'm too week to say no. I'm starting to feel hopeless to this addiction. I've started going to NA meetings. Can't go today because we spent all of our money on dope and no gas money. I hate this addiction, I hate myself, I hate my life....why does life have to be this way??? Why was I so stupid to try this sh&*? Why do I have to have depression, border line, dermatillomania, OCD, and anxiety??? Why do I have to be an addict?? Why can't I be normal???

The one you, as an individual, can not overcome.

I hate to even say this but I've known quite a few addicts. And I've never known ANYONE who could maintain sobriety while having a counterpart who is also an addict unless BOTH of them were trying to get clean! It's really hard to kick a habit when you're faced with the temptation around your peers. Is he trying to quit too?

Hi Alone & Confused,

Thanks for your response. The answer is unfortunately "No", my boyfriend is not trying to get clean. I have started going to NA meetings and every time I go to a meeting he bad mouths them and says "I'll get clean on my own, I don't need a stupid meeting." We fight about it all the time, then when I tell him he isn't even trying to get clean and I am his reply is "I don't want to talk about it, I don't need this negativity." I tell him I don't think he really wants to and he refuses to discuss it. The prognosis for the relationship is not looking good, I can't continue to live like this for me and my family. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any family. All I can do is work on me, I can't change him. I wish I could, but I can't.

No, sadly you can't help someone who won't help themselves. All you can really do is save yourself. It sounds as though the relationship may be taking a backseat to his addiction.

Tenderheart,
I hate to say this but maybe you should think about out not being in the relationship you're in since you are trying to get clean. I say this because I am also an addict, I have about 6 weeks sober now. I have never been able to stay sober because I have always been with a man that drank or did drugs and it was impossible to stay sober with any of them. Since I had my daughter, I have been single bc her dad went to jail and we broke up. I have finally been able to stay clean and I know it's bc I am doing what they tell you to do in treatment- stay single for at least a year after getting clean. Good luck to you. I, myself have never been big on crack cocaine, downers were my thing but I watched my father battle and 20 year crack addiction and its hell- especially when you will do about anything to get it. You can do this! Keep going to meetings, screw what your man says!

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On a societal level of health problems, smoking definitely far exceeds anything else. Alcohol is definitely second place, and if you get truly addicted to it (alcoholism), it damages one's social life and work life in a way that looks a heck of a lot like addictions to some illegal substances. It also can cause health problems, especially for alcoholics. Meth is the worst addiction as far as illegal drugs go here in the states. However, as for all addictions that people can have, Krokodil is definitely the worst by a long shot. I'm not even going to talk about it on here as it could be very disturbing for some people to even hear about. However, if you are curious what it is, google it. Just be warned, it is VERY GRISLY AND NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH! When I heard about it, I was truly in disbelief that any human being would ever consume this substance! At first I thought it might be a hoax, but shockingly it isn't!

I think my worst addiction would be sex addiction. If I was lonely I'd get low self esteem which would start me drinking. While drinking I like to be drugging. While drugging, I'd like to have sex, but that then reminds me that I'm lonely...