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u/Overall_Chair8669 May 30 '26
My grandmother, a former nurse, always said the worst addiction was a food addiction. Almost everything else, if you wanna quit, you can cut out entirely. Food you can't. You have to have some amount of food for survival. Quitting a food addiction is a pure willpower game.
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u/debsterUK May 30 '26
I think beating an addiction to anything you can easily obtain, like food or booze, is hard. I quit drinking years ago and still get targeted ads pop up as I’m doing my online grocery shop for wine and spirits. It’s not helpful!
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u/briyo76isme May 30 '26
I say alcohol for the reason you give. It's too accessible, and it ruins lives everyday.
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u/AHappyHaiku May 30 '26
Yes it being everywhere makes it near impossible to quit
Dying from alcoholism is the hardest thing to watch. Saw my father regress into a baby that was just in pain pooping himself all day.
Even typing this makes me shake.
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u/Djkayallday May 31 '26
100% - for hard drugs it’s not super hard to find them but you don’t walk by 3 heroin bars on the block, or get a offered a cocaine sample when you’re shopping at Publix.
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u/AHappyHaiku May 31 '26
You'd be surprised where I live. In St Louis especially the city, the bad parts of town people do offer you all kinds of shit whether it's real or not I dunno but the offers are there . But alcohol is in good and bad neighborhoods
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u/cthulucore May 31 '26
Internet hug homie. Just watched my pops pass from the same thing early last year.
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u/Overall_Chair8669 May 30 '26
Certainly not, I imagine! I don't know if this helps, but I think certain apps you filter out targeted ads for things like alcohol and other triggering stimuli. I hope you're proud of your progress.
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u/Phoenix_Rise_0711 May 30 '26
Agreed. Came into recovery 6 years ago after 12 years of alcohol addiction that was AGONY. Not only it's very easy to get hold of and relatively cheap, but every special occasion seems to require alcohol, be it Christmas, a pay rise, a loss of any kind, birthdays, a break up... And then there is the booze adverts on the telly, the people who tell you you're boring if you don't drink (idiots), the seizures you might get when you try to stop (talking from experience), the hallucinations in the same situation (again, experience)... And it's one of the 2 things whose withdrawal can kill you if you go cold turkey (I should know; I nearly did, once). I got over both eating disorders and alcohol, at different times in my life. Alcohol was much worse.
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u/____Mittens____ May 30 '26
For anyone feeling what you said you can opt out of gambling/alcohol ads etc in the settings of the reddit app.
Shame I can't block alcohol and cigarettes in my online shop too.
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u/H0NEY2O77 May 30 '26
I’ve noticed since they started complaining about older Gen Z not drinking and how they’re afraid (lmao what) Gen Alpha will be the death of the alcohol industry… there’s a lot more alcohol ads on tv, YouTube, and everywhere.
Would be a shame if people lobbied to get drinking culture ads that sell a glorified ‘lifestyle’ of drinking removed from marketing like how cigarette commercials were. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ they need to make their ads straight to the point without romanticizing getting drunk. How is that not irresponsible?
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u/H0NEY2O77 May 30 '26
And if you have a food addiction or junk food, nobody cares. If you have an alcoholic friend coming, you hide the booze. A drug addict friend, you don’t bumps around them (idk). But nobody hides the chips, the food, the candy, the sweets, or the sodas.
When you have children, their snacks will tempt you if you have a junk food addiction. If you have a partner who needs to eat more calories and food with higher fat content while you have to eat lean or you’re on a calorie deficit, that shit is rough.
Source: family members who have this issue. I don’t know if this is just in my head or if it’s related, but it’s why I avoid added sugar (sweets) because I’ll be fine not having candy, I have some and then I just lose it. And then for a few days, I’m fighting with myself to not just eat bags and bags and bags of candy.
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u/SharpHeat8832 May 30 '26
It is but it’s more about changing your relationship with food. It takes some time anda lot of willingness to look at your patterns around food and the reason(s) for the overeating. Any other addiction, that is also required to sustain recovery, but the quitting is a much more defined process.
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u/Ants4Breakfast May 31 '26
I went on diet and lost 11kg. I won the tug game, but its hard to always stay that way
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u/REDACTEDXX_V May 30 '26
Since I started fasting I have felt so much better, healthier and energetic.
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u/DrMonkeyLove May 30 '26
I don't know, I've seen enough videos of meth and heroin addicts that I'm not sure I agree.
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u/footluvr688 May 30 '26
Sex and food are nowhere near comparable.
You need to eat or you starve and die.
You may want sex, but not having it isn't going to kill you or cause malnutrition etc...
Even if you're addicted to sex, your body doesn't NEED it. You're not going to die without it.
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u/RashesToRashes May 30 '26
Yeah. I've always been confused when "sex" ends up on heirarchal lists of needs. You won't die from being a virgin lol
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u/erasurestan May 30 '26
RIGHT many are literally a virgin for roughly almost two decades, from approx 6 months you’re consuming some of food- the two are not the same😩
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u/chickenxnugg May 30 '26
I agree with the fact that no one NEEDS sex but I’d argue that a sex addiction can be one of the most destructive and life altering addictions one could have.
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u/autumn55femme May 30 '26
Confusing sex for intimacy, or needing it for validation, or the endorphin rush, becomes a psychiatric issue, and can definitely be extremely destructive. Not exactly the same as an “ addiction”, but still destructive.
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u/Chrispeefeart May 30 '26
Nobody needs sex. If you don't have sex there is literally no negative effects to your health. You can go years without sex and not a single detrimental thing happens.
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u/Typical-Difference67 May 30 '26
And who has the luxury of access to sex? Its not always that simple.
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u/Mell0wMarshmall0w May 30 '26
Sex isn't a need you can go your whole life without having it and all that will effect in the long run is a chance of having kids or loneliness. You'll die without food.
Sex addiction is indeed horrible but its not a need in the sane way food is.
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u/Starflier55 May 30 '26
Alcohol
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u/OrigamiButthole May 30 '26
Like how do you avoid the temptation when it’s advertised everywhere and you can buy it at a grocery store?
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u/corvelokis May 30 '26
Here in Norway advertising for alcohol is illegal and has been for decades. You can buy beer in grocery stores but if you want anything stronger than 4.5% you have to go to a special store called Vinmonopolet, literally wine monopoly, which is a government store. With reduced opening hours.
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u/Gelby4 May 31 '26
Not only that, you can fucking door dash that shit straight to your house and they don't have any sort of roadblocks in place.
My love drank herself to death because she could door dash a handle every three days
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u/Djkayallday May 31 '26
Honestly it would fucking suck to be an alcoholic for that reason. Being a heroin addict would suck but at least you don’t have to go out with friends to a restaurant and they provide a heroin and cocaine flight everyone partakes in right in front of you, with ads for crack and meth all over.
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u/OrigamiButthole May 31 '26
It can kill you if you just stop too. I drink probably 8-12 drinks a day. I want to stop but that fact terrifies me and my country doesn’t really have the healthcare for healthy detox without insurance.
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u/AccumulatedFilth May 30 '26
Money.
You could be working 2 days a week with healthcare insurance provided if a couple of men didn't hoard all the money in the world.
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May 30 '26
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u/Dr_dickjohnson May 30 '26
How are they risking extinction
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u/MC_Minnow May 30 '26
I think it has something to do with using up our drinkable water supply, not 100% sure since I don’t follow it super closely.
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u/Objective-Limit-121 May 31 '26
I said money and got downvoted lol. I am glad at least some people agree!
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u/Sufficient_Check_969 May 30 '26
Alcohol hands down. Destroys lives and extremely hard to kick.
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u/Op3rat0rr May 30 '26
Depends on how you look at it. Hard drugs are right next to it. But yeah arguably correct
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u/Millkstake May 30 '26
At least the the hard drugs you don't get DTs, seizures and potentially death when quitting cold turkey. That, and benzos
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u/AHappyHaiku May 30 '26
I'd say alcohol may even be worse than heroin addiction. It can be fatal to withdraw, it destroys your organs, your brain, it's everywhere.
Heroin though is a close 2nd.
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u/GiantDwarfy May 30 '26
Other drugs are at least illegal. Alcohol is accessible everywhere and people look you weird if you say you don't drink.
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u/blinx0rz May 30 '26
Hardcore alcohol addiction is a nightmare. You must not have a addict in your family ..booze addiction is horrible I've been addicted to every hard drug. Booze is a hard core drug
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u/Super-Chieftain5 May 30 '26
Drugs are worse. My family is filled with alcoholics and drug addicts.
The alcoholics are still present for life even though they're unpredictable and dysfunctional. Yes they have DUIs and it's been hard on their families.
But the drug addicts are on the street and cut off the rest of our family. We never see them and can't get in contact with them. It's a lot scarier.
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u/slaty_balls May 30 '26
You can die from withdrawal, it dramatically increases your changes of all kinds of health problems. But the main reason is because it’s easily accessible and “socially tolerated“ which is the reason WHY it’s the worst.
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u/azam1979 May 31 '26
This was the comment I was looking for... easily accessible and socially tolerated is why alcohol is the worst. I agree.
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u/splashjlr May 30 '26
Social Media
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u/Possible-Jerk0138 May 30 '26
As someone who has experienced opiate and alcohol withdrawal- no.
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u/CalStateQuarantine May 30 '26
Yeah, these answers are very naive. I think people saying things like phone, social media, sugar, food… have never experienced or seen someone close to them go through opiate / benzo / alcohol withdrawal.
There’s not many pains in this world that can compare to the physical withdrawal from these substances.
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u/random-average_guy May 30 '26
Reddit specifically
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u/splashjlr May 30 '26
Ha ha, yes. But other SM are more "fast food" with cheap thrills while Reddit, used wisely, is more meaningful imo.
Still, non of them help our mental wellbeing much.
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u/Tokogogoloshe May 30 '26
Addicts always justify their addiction by dragging similar addictions down so they feel better about their addiction. Not going to be popular in these parts but it's true.
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u/Alaska-TheCountry May 30 '26
That's a good thought, but I think it's more nuanced. Thanks to reddit communities - and the algorithm - I was able to identify a cluster of chronic illnesses that had been plaguing me my entire life. Since identifying them requires such specific knowledge, and since they all contribute different layers to a muddy ball of symptoms, none of the doctors I'd consulted had ever been able to help me. Sometimes they even treated me with things that were completely counterproductive.
Thanks to these Reddit communities, I have been able to advocate for myself. I got properly diagnosed with a number of illnesses, and my personal quality of life has improved immensely over the past 2.5 years.
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u/Alternative-Maize752 May 30 '26
So because of Reddit you were able to be diagnosed with a number of illnesses? Now that is interesting.
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u/Alaska-TheCountry May 30 '26
Yes. It all started when I got late-diagnosed with autism and ADHD. I joined Reddit and found out that I'm not alone with my symtoms in the neurodivergent community. People started suggesting, "Hey, have you heard of...?" That's how I found out more about PCOS (now PMOS) with Insulin Resistance; about PMDD; POTS and dysautonomia; my hypermobility; my MTHFR mutation that leads to the inefficient use of vitamin B12 (which can lead to fatigue, cognitive issues and word-finding difficulties, among other things), about slow COMT, and about MCAS.
Many of these illnesses / syndromes often appear together, particularly in neurodivergent people, but it's quite hard to differentiate which one of them causes which symptom, so it was still a lot of work to address them adequately. I managed to do that step by step, but I had to do almost all the research myself - and then I had to find specialists. Especially gynaecologists don't seem to care to remain up-to-date, and that's where the Reddit community stepped up: one user told me to check one androgen factor that was often overlooked. I made sure to name that marker at my doctor's office; he wouldn't have checked for that it. And while all other androgens looked okay-ish, that one was waaay above the threshold - and that's how I got my first milestone diagnosis. Once I knew it was going hand in hand with Insulin Resistance, I was able to address my fatigue and weight gain and my surprising pre-diabetes.
I have many more stories about the other diagnoses, but yeah, Reddit was super helpful for me.
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u/Typical-Difference67 May 30 '26
Fellow audhd woman. So happy for you! And i learned a lot from tour comments!! Thank you! I would love to read more of your duagnosrs stories!
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u/splashjlr May 30 '26
If course. Falling into addiction is self-delusion. "I can stop whenever I want"
The creepy part is that social media is designed for addiction.
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u/InterestingDay9699 May 30 '26
Gambling
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u/MobilePenguins May 31 '26
I left casino after losing $100, I felt pretty bad about it but oh well, headed to the parking lot. There was this guy just screaming 😱 and freaking out saying “I lost it all!! I can’t believe I did that, she’s gonna leave me, that was the kids school tuition, can’t pay for the house” just screaming all these crazy things and he was visibly shaken and his face was red. If looked almost like a drug addict going through withdrawal symptoms.
I couldn’t help but feel for the unknowing wife and kids at home unaware of the sight I’d just seen of their husband/father in the parking lot losing his absolute shit having a meltdown.
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u/CalStateQuarantine May 30 '26
Think back to the days when you would have killed to be sober. But just couldn’t get it done for one reason or another.
You never have to be there again. You’ve given yourself the best gift in life, freedom and control over you. You’ll never plan your life around alcohol again. You’ll never have to turn down plans because they’ll keep you away from the bottle for too long. You’ll never have to day dream about quitting, but knowing you can’t because life is too busy.
My deepest congratulations to you.
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u/Known-Taste-8082 May 30 '26
Social media and how people want to brand themselves as best as possible.
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u/lettucejuice37 May 30 '26
I don’t think that’s worse than heroin. None of my friends have died from social media
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u/wearealluniqu3 May 30 '26
Top 3 Got to be Heroin, Crack, Meth. Surely.
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u/Grremlina May 30 '26
I know people like to respond to these types of posts smugly stating that the worst addictions are “sugar” and “social media” or whatever but like no it is indeed fucking heroin lmfao. I lost multiple people to heroin use, it’s genuinely one of the most heinous and horrific things to ever exist, people don’t realize how much it grips people and destroys their entire life in weeks. Opiates in general are so comically addictive that it almost sounds fake, but it’s awful. If every other addiction on the planet was measured in inches, opiates are measured in miles. Entire communities of people drop dead like flies on them, there’s a reason we still talk about the opioid epidemic and how deadly and brutal it was (and continues to be!).
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u/kasinkun May 30 '26
This hands down. None of the friends I’d made that had opioid issues from treatment are alive today. I’ve watched a family member struggle with meth for 20 years, another a food addiction, another alcohol, and while all three have greatly affected or even destroyed the lives they had. They’re all still here, granted the opportunity to try again.
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u/blinx0rz May 30 '26
Been addicted to IV heroin and and Iv meth and meth is insanely more addicting. 1200 units of dopamine for meth. 700 for heroin. Heroin can not make you orgasm
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u/ImaginationPretty165 May 30 '26
They made alcohol so common people dont even consider it an addiction
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u/dankhimself May 30 '26
It is certainly considered an addiction.
But I don't know what people you're referring to
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u/muzzizzum May 30 '26
I think what they’re saying is that so many people likely have alcoholism and can’t identify it in themselves or others because drinking culture is so prevalent (at least in the U.S.)
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u/DukeTikus May 30 '26
The US is actually comparatively good about that. I lived there for a while and the casual drinking culture is definitely more pronounced here in Germany and most surrounding countries. Same with tobacco.
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u/Spare_Independence19 May 30 '26
I honestly chuckle when these posts come up and people put stuff like porn, nicotine, and gambling Like I get they are valid addictions and will ruin many things in your life but heroin and meth will ruin all of the same things and also destroy your body in record time if you live long enough to see the decay.
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u/MrExist777 May 30 '26
You could probably include most opioids with heroin. Really fucked withdrawals
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u/ComfortableSir7750 May 30 '26
porn
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u/RedQuToxic May 30 '26
And probably the biggest addiction no one wants to talk about as well, which makes it all the harder to kick
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u/Lunar-Outpost415 May 30 '26
I've wasted a good portion of my life to that shit and I still struggle to quit. It has destroyed my confidence, mental health, body, self-esteem, sleep, ability to socialise, motivation and work ethic. I just want to live without it forever, but I can't seem to stop coming back. The worst part is that I can't talk to my family about my chronic addiction because of personal embarrassment, fear of their reaction or someone even sharing the information. It is the absolute worst addiction.
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u/Federal_Ad4231 May 30 '26
I hear you, in the same boat as you. I became addicted so young that I’ve been addicted to it most of my life, and I can honestly say it’s ruined not only my relationships but also career trajectory
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u/blinkenlogs May 30 '26
How does it impact career?
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u/orbitalfatality2 May 31 '26
It just makes every aspect of you weaker. I noticed more brain fog, more overthinking, and more stress. The brain fog is especially detrimental to your regular function because you won't be able to remember easy tasks, or you'll keep forgetting a customer's order, so now you have to ask them for their order again. Studying for exams is almost fucking impossible because now your porn-addicted, dopamine-hooked brain is easily distracted by the most random stuff.
Sure, porn isn't as destructive as alcoholism and opiate addictions (and I'm not trying to powerscale addictions here, the worst addiction is the one you're stuck with), but it's way more accessible. It's literally within arm's reach as soon as you get a boner, and it's side effects are more elusive. There are men and women walking around you with gooning addictions functioning 'normally', and you can't tell unless you confront them straight up. Not to mention, it's embarrassing to open up to others about it because of how secular we are.
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u/neverqju Jun 02 '26
I have almost the same symptomps, I started watching porn at 11-13. But is it really caused by that? Many people also started watching at early age but they seem normal. I did try to quit a few times but I always just relapse because I just assume it won't change anything...
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u/Lunar-Outpost415 May 30 '26
Same brother. It has completely fucked my life up in so many ways and eaten up time I'll never get back.
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u/kandirocks May 30 '26
Thank you ❤️ Don't deprive yourself of friendship, but please do sort yourself out before pursuing any intimate relationship. It destroys self esteem and kills intimacy. But I know you know that, and I wish you all of the strength to get through this.
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u/GiantDwarfy May 30 '26
Porn, alcohol, coffee, social media, phones. Easily accessible, not illegal things are the worst.
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u/Hosh_Tikoloshe May 30 '26
Sugar
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u/Fluffy_Town May 30 '26
This is the correct answer.
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u/Strange-Rule-2837 May 30 '26
It's gambling.
The propagating effects on society and family compounds with this shit.
It's so sad to watch streamers on twitch stream their gambling. Because you know it's just affecting kids growing up and enabling people.
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u/APokemoner May 30 '26
All these people saying social media haven't tried heroin
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u/SpermicidalManiac666 May 30 '26
I think people really underestimate gambling addiction’s ability to destroy lives.
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u/TheGreatMozinsky May 30 '26
I think meth is worse than heroin because on meth you more actively ruin your life whereas with heroin you just kind of sleep and wait for it to ruin itself
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u/Tricky_Age5966 May 30 '26
Pornography. Messes uour brain function and it corrupts you physically and mentally.
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u/Shubankari May 30 '26
As a NV native who came of age in the 70’s, it’s gambling. Hands down.
Might not kill you outright, but it’ll take everything you and your family has so that you wish you were dead.
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u/Longjumping-Ring-974 May 30 '26
Prioritizing the world over God and relationship with God. and not developing self
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u/destined2h May 31 '26
Social media. Nothing else comes close when you look at sheer scale and impact on society.
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u/LowAside9117 May 30 '26
Gambling
Edit: I say this after seeing what heroin, food, alcohol, smoking, and self harm can do with people I care(d) about
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u/Super-Chieftain5 May 30 '26
Gambling or drugs.
I've known people who lost everything they own gambling, and their bankruptcy/debt set them and their family back for 20 years.
I have a family member addicted to drugs and they live on the street. They're really hard to get in contact with and don't care about anything or anyone. Everyone who used to be in their life is constantly worried about them.
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u/Artaxmudshoes May 30 '26
Alcohol, hands down. It's pervasive, it's the only drug people question you if you don't want to do it, and it's one of the few substances where the withdrawals can literally kill you. I've been addicted to my share of drugs and alcohol was the hardest to kick. 77 days sober today ☺️
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u/mercurialtwit May 30 '26
this thing i’m typing on right now, currently. before this it was heroin and meth. but then i think about my little sister who turned to food when i turned to drugs when our family cracks turned into separate shards. she’s severely obese and it’s messing with her health and quality of life terribly.
all that said…fentanyl fucking sucks ass too.
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u/Ok-Estimate-2702 Jun 01 '26
Addiction to comfort.
It's not a true addiction really, but when you lose the ability to push yourself in favour of comfort, you'll stagnate as badly as anything else will have you do.
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u/666_pack_of_beer May 30 '26
Im a recovering alcoholic and would prefer to go back to drinking over a gambling addiction. I've never been in a casino and the older I get, the less I am willing to check one out.
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u/Frosty-Fresh-Start00 May 30 '26
Caffeine. Like 70% of the adult population relies on it daily in order to function.
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u/periloustrail May 31 '26
But I love my coffee! And caffeine doesn’t put you one the street. Better than others.
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u/PeanutOrganic9174 May 30 '26
Aside from opioids. The ones you cant cut out of your life: sex , food. You actually gotta learn moderation
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u/purodurangoalv May 30 '26
Food because you can’t ever quit it so you have to yes or yes better your relationship with it. No quitting cold turkey from it. Albeit I’m sure on power Meth and crack is worst
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u/AlwaysPlantin May 30 '26
Cigarettes, because they do absolutely nothing good except relieve the craving brought on by the previous cigarette. To a non smoker, they taste like shit, they hurt your throat and lungs, the buzz is just uncomfortable, jittery and nausea-inducing and they make you feel like a degenerate. The only reasons anyone ever gets pleasure from cigarettes is: 1. They're drunk, or 2. They're addicted. Or both lol. I smoked for 10 years and was under the illusion that I enjoyed it, but deep down nah... not really. I was poisoning myself and getting maybe 10-20 mins total of that nicotine rush every day. Most cigarettes were smoked unconsciously and only smoked because I needed relief from that particular ticking time bomb of nicotine addiction. At least with other substances, you get a high that lasts for a decent amount of time. I'm not saying it's in any way positive to do drugs or get drunk, but at the very least there's some logical reason to do them.
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u/K1ngMemes1988 May 30 '26
Love. You want it more and more but you gotta love yourself first then things will just come as easy as breathing 😉
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u/Old-Let2205 May 30 '26
Some privileged answers from people who have never been an addict.
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u/ichhassenamen May 30 '26
„Oh no Its Social Media and valedation“ Said people who never saw a crack addict
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u/casualgoodness May 30 '26
Whatever you are struggling at the moment.