The World Blog by humble servant.

Addiction’s a slippery slope, and it’s rarely just about the drug. Take alcoholism—or any vice, really. People kick one habit only to grab another. I say: quit crack, become drunks. It’s a swap, a replacement, and it’s not rare—studies peg it at up to 25% of folks in recovery sliding from one addiction to something else, like booze or pills. Why? It’s not the substance they’re hooked on; it’s the hole they’re trying to plug. Psychologists call this substitution or cross-addiction, and it’s the mind’s sneaky way of keeping the game going. Crack’s gone, but the itch stays—alcohol just scratches it differently. Same rush, same numbness, same dodge from whatever’s eating them inside. I say it plays out in other ways too. Some ditch the bottle and pick up “Jesus worship,” then start yapping in second person—“you gotta do this”—when they’re really talking to themselves. It’s a tell. Substitution doesn’t always wear a drug’s face; it can look like obsession, even with faith. They’re still cha...