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This is a list of quotes about addiction, suffering, and hope that spoke to me – as an addictions professional – as well as on a human level.

These quotes about addiction are raw and relatable, with perhaps my favorites being from the memoir Drinking: A Love Story, in which the author, Caroline Knapp, bares her soul so compellingly that she becomes a kindred spirit in her vulnerability. Carrie Fisher also has a way with words, frank and darkly witty on the topic of addiction.

Read on for quotes about addiction from famous actors, singers, writers, sex workers, and more.

Image by mostafa meraji from Pixabay

Quotes about addiction: on why people become addicted…

“And then I realized I was high. I loved the sensation. It felt like medicine to soothe the soul and awaken the senses. There was nothing awkward or scary – I didn’t feel like I had lost control – in fact, I felt like I was in control.”
Anthony Kiedis (Founder & Lead Vocalist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers)

“Drugs don’t really fix anything, except for everything.”

— Ashly Lorenzana (American Sex Worker, Freelance Writer, & Writer of the Memoir Sex, Drugs & Being an Escort)

“The priority of any addict is to anaesthetize the pain of living to ease the passage of day with some purchased relief.”
Russell Brand (English Comedian, Actor, & Author of My Booky Wook)

“To a drinker the sensation is real and pure and akin to something spiritual: you seek; in the bottle, you find.”
Caroline Knapp (American Writer & Author of Drinking: A Love Story)

On what it’s like having an addiction…

“It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”
Edgar Allan Poe (American Writer, Poet, & Literary Critic)

“The attempt to escape from pain, is what creates more pain.”
Gabor Maté (Canadian Physician & Author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction)

“Imagine trying to live without air.
Now imagine something worse.”
Amy Reed (American Author)

“Drugs are a sort of dusk that grant us the illusion that we’re the ones who decide when the light goes out, but that power never belongs to us. The darkness takes us whenever it likes.”
Fredrik Backman (Swedish Author, Blogger, & Columnist)

“If you have a need to be comfortable all the time—well, among other things, you have the makings of a classic drug addict or alcoholic.”

— Carrie Fisher (American Actress & Writer)

“If you’re one of us, the bottle takes your shit, that’s all. First a little, then a lot, then everything.”
Stephen King (Best-selling American Author, the “King of Horror”)

“I drank when I was happy and I drank when I was anxious and I drank when I was bored and I drank when I was depressed, which was often.”
Caroline Knapp

“I’ve been asleep and I don’t know if it’s the same day or week or year, but who the hell cares anyway?”
Beatrice Sparks (American Author, Mormon Youth Counselor, & Hoaxer)

Dark humor…

“Reality is just a crutch for people who can’t handle drugs.”
Robin Williams (American Actor & Comedian)

“I used to have a drug problem, now I make enough money.”
David Lee Roth (American Singer, Songwriter, & Original Lead Vocalist of Van Halen)

“An alcoholic will steal your wallet and lie to you. A drug addict will steal your wallet and then help you look for it.”
David Sheff (American Author)

Karl Marx:

“Religion is the opiate of the masses.”

Carrie Fisher:

“I did masses of opiates religiously.”

— Postcards from the Edge

“Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it.”
Nikki Sixx (Co-founder, Bassist, & Primary Songwriter for Mötley Crüe)

“People are a lot easier to be around when they’re not tweaking out on meth.”
Joe Exotic (“The Tiger King”)

“And in my mind, this settles the issue. I would never drink cologne, and am therefore not an alcoholic.”
Augusten Burroughs (American Author & Screenwriter)

Quotes about addiction: on quitting and recovery…

“[Crystal methamphetamine] was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with.”
Fergie (American Singer/Rapper, Songwriter, & Actress)

“Your addiction is not your identity, but you won’t know that until you’re in recovery; that’s when the two separate.”
Toni Sorenson (American Author)

“The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s connection.”

— Johann Hari (Journalist, Writer, & Admitted Plagiarist)

“Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest.”
Gary Oldman (English Actor & Filmmaker)

“When you quit drinking, you stop waiting.”

— Caroline Knapp

“Recovery is an acceptance that your life is in shambles and you have to change it.”
Jamie Lee Curtis (American Actress, Producer, & Author)

Share your favorite quotes about addiction and recovery in a comment!

When it comes to someone else’s alcohol or drug use, how can you tell the difference between helping and enabling, and how can you help a loved one with addiction?

In my work at a residential treatment center, I’ve worked with family members who inadvertently fueled their loved one’s addiction. They “helped” by bailing them out of jail, giving them money, etc., which only enabled the individual to continue to get high. It’s hard for family members to differentiate between behaviors that help versus enable.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “enable,” it means “to provide with the means or opportunity” or “to make possible, practical, or easy” (according to Merriam-Webster). When applied to substance use, it means a person in active addiction is provided with the means to continue to use.

Helping a person in active addiction means supporting their basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, and clothing. (If someone is in jail or treatment, their basic needs are met; therefore, bailing them out would be enabling.) Thinking in terms of “needs vs. wants” helps you to recognize enabling and therefore, to help a loved one with addiction.

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When a parent has a son or daughter with an addiction, it’s especially difficult to make the distinction between helping and enabling. A parent’s natural inclination is to nurture and protect from harm. It’s heart-wrenching to see your child in pain. But if a parent doesn’t set (and adhere to) healthy boundaries, they will quickly become emotionally drained (as they enable their child’s addiction).

Here are some ways to help a loved one with addiction who’s actively using:

1. Never (ever) offer money.

If asked for cash for food, for example, buy groceries instead (or offer to take them to lunch). I worked with a father who bought a bag of groceries for his son, who struggled with severe alcoholism and was homeless, on a weekly basis. This is an excellent example of how to help a loved one with addiction versus enabling their drug use.

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2. If asked for help paying bills, say no.

If your loved one doesn’t have to pay the electric bill, they’ll probably spend that money on drugs or alcohol. Furthermore, if you protect them from the consequences of not paying bills (i.e. having the power shut off), your loved one is less likely to see a need for change. (People don’t change when they’re comfortable.)

3. If your loved one is addicted to opioids (heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, etc.), attend a training or take an online course on opioid overdose reversal (Narcan [naloxone] administration).

If you’re unsure where local trainings are offered, a Google search for “Narcan training” or “opioid reversal training” will link you to resources in your area. Most trainings are free. Keep a Narcan kit on your person at all times. Provide your loved one with a kit (or two) as well.

This is not enabling. Help a loved one with addiction by potentially saving their life, thereby giving them the opportunity to recover. (A dead opioid-user doesn’t recover.)

4. Offer to help them get into treatment.

Become familiar with the different treatment options in your area. Don’t give ultimatums (i.e. “If you don’t get treatment, I’ll divorce you”) or make threats (especially if you’re not willing to follow through).

Be supportive, not judgmental. Be patient; when your loved one is emotionally and physically drained from addiction’s painful consequences (or when they hit “rock bottom”), they may decide it’s time to get help. And you’ll be ready.

5. Recognize that your loved one is not the same person they were before addiction.

Substance use disorder is a debilitating disease that damages the brain; it changes how a person feels and thinks. With addiction, the brain’s reward center is rewired, resulting in a biological “need” for drugs/alcohol. (Compare this to your need for food or water or air.)

Recognize that your loved one’s addiction will lie to you. They will do whatever it takes to get their “needs” met. Your loved one’s addiction will steal from you. (Lock up your valuables if they have access to your home… and even if they don’t. I’ve worked with more than a few individuals who have broken into their parents’ home for either money for drugs or valuables to pawn for money for drugs.)

Your loved one’s addiction will betray you. Accepting the nature of addiction will help you to set healthy boundaries.

6. Attend Al-Anon or Nar-Anon meetings.

By engaging with others with similar struggles, you’ll learn more about supporting your loved one (without enabling their addiction). You’ll also build a supportive network by connecting with others, strengthening your emotional health.

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7. When in doubt, try asking yourself one (or all) of the following questions:

Will my actions help my loved one to continue to drink or use?
Is this a “want” or a basic need?
Will my actions prevent them from experiencing a natural consequence?

Conclusion

Addiction is a devastating, but treatable, disease. The road to recovery is difficult and long (with many detours).

While you can never control someone else’s behaviors, there are ways to help a loved one with addiction. Be kind and compassionate; they’re in an unthinkable amount of pain. They didn’t choose addiction. The best way to support them is by setting healthy boundaries to ensure you’re not enabling continued use.

Boundaries allow you to help them without furthering their addiction. Boundaries also serve as protection for you and your emotional health; you’re in no position to help if you’re emotionally, financially, and spiritually depleted.

Please share in a comment your suggestions for helping a loved one with addiction.

Tag: addiction

How to Help a Loved One with Addiction: 7 Tips that Promote Recovery