You're 100% right! Addiction can sneak up on people in SOOO many ways. As somebody who grew up VERY active in the Church, in the bubble that is Bountiful High School- I never ever would have expected that "a guy like me" could ever get addicted to drugs. ("That kind of thing only happens to hippies and Democrats" I was kind of prideful, and very naive.) And EVEN when I was taking percocet, and oxycontin, I NEVER thought myself susceptible to addiction... because my *doctor* had given it to me- and he just happened to be my Teachers Quorum adviser. Looking back now, I can see that I have always had a personality that is VERY prone to addiction. (I can happily eat the same thing for lunch like 43 days in a row. Then I'll get sick of it- find something new I like, and then eat THAT everyday for 2 months in a row.) 🙄

People get addicted for SOOO many reasons, in SOOO many ways. To SOOOO many things. I personally loved oxycodone- percocet, oxycontin, etc. (Lortab did nothing for me. "It's for pansies." Morphine- blah. Codeine- give me a break! But all of those drugs are appealing to various people.) Some like recreational drugs. Some smoke pot. Some drink cough syrup. Others might like xanax, klonopin, ativan, valium, etc. Others might just like plain old alcohol.

I know of a woman who was a stake RS President. She slipped on some ice, while taking a meal to a new mom, and fractured some discs in her back. Her doc gave her lortab. Within a year, she had graduated to oxycontin, to fentanyl, and started prostituting herself to buy heroin. (My bishop actually told me the story- withholding the identity. She's been clean for 3 years now.) It can happen to ANYONE.

The only universal thing about addiction is that we take what we do in order to feel a certain way... OR to *avoid* feeling a certain way. For me, it started out as getting rid of headaches. Then- anxiety. Then, when I was addicted, and stopped getting that high... I just took it to keep me numb. I felt like I needed it to live, when in reality, it was preventing me from doing exactly that- living! I was numbed out for seven years! About a week after I got off the painkillers, I actually dislocated my shoulder. The pain was excruciating! But in a way, it was bloody glorious! Just to FEEL something *so* intensely- after not feeling anything was magnificent.

I'm happy that you're clean now! Only someone who has been through addiction knows that the word "congratulations" is SO inadequate, for such a huge and daunting accomplishment. That said, it sounds like you could definitely use some support in maintaining your sobriety. I'll happily send you the name and contact info of the "life coach" as well as one or two other people who might prove helpful.

Best Wishes!
"Lux"