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Is It OK to Replace One Addiction With Another?
The answer depends on what we mean by addiction.
This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter.
A common criticism of recovering addicts is that they’ve “just replaced one addiction with another.” However, depending on the context, this phrase can have radically different meanings.
Sometimes, the person being criticized has replaced their substance addiction with another substance addiction. For example, they’ve quit using cocaine but started drinking alcohol every day. This is, clearly, a problem.
However, the phrase is also used to describe someone who has gotten sober and begun to devote a lot of time to a new hobby. For example, they’ve stopped drinking and started going to CrossFit six times a week. In these latter cases, “replacing one addiction with another,” isn’t such a serious issue at all.
In today’s newsletter, I’m going to share my experience with both of these types of “replacements.” First, how I replaced my drinking habit with another substance, and second, how I replaced it with a healthy hobby.
Replacing One Substance With Another
When I was in my twenties, I was addicted to two substances: Alcohol and nicotine.
