Our Take On Addiction
Addiction is a subject that has fascinated—and divided—our society for decades. It has been debated endlessly, woven into countless conversations, and has seeped into the personal lives of millions. It has taken brilliant, kind, loving people and, too often, left devastation in its wake.
The medical field classifies addiction as a mental disorder, often treating it primarily with medication.
The judicial system views it as a choice and punishes those who suffer from it—fueling an industry that profits from incarceration rather than healing.
Society often labels people struggling with addiction as weak, irresponsible, or unwilling to grow up and care for their families.
Some addiction specialists say all addiction stems from childhood trauma.
During our years in addiction, we believed all of these perspectives. We believed the medical system, the judicial system, and society’s judgments about who we were.
Until we healed.
Through our own recovery, we discovered the truth: our addictions were behaviors we adopted to survive unresolved childhood trauma—and everything that comes with it.
Addiction was not who we were.
It was how we coped.
It was a learned behavior—a way to numb pain, escape pressure, and avoid feeling what felt unbearable at the time. For a moment, it offered relief. Over time, it became destructive.
Addiction is a global problem. It does not discriminate by wealth, intelligence, culture, or social status. It affects people everywhere. And in our experience—and supported by science—it often begins with trauma experienced early in life.
We didn’t arrive at these conclusions lightly.
We lived through addiction ourselves for many years. When it became life-threatening, we spent even more years desperately searching for a solution. Therapy. Self-help. Endless effort. At times, we blamed ourselves completely, believing something was fundamentally wrong with us.
Relapse after relapse left us devastated—confused about how we could keep hurting ourselves and the people we loved most.
Then neuroscience gave us answers.
Modern neuroscience showed us that addiction is not a life sentence—it is an adaptive behavior formed by the brain in response to pain. Once we healed the wounds beneath the behavior, we no longer needed the addiction to survive.
The urge to escape disappeared.
The need to numb faded.
The cycle finally broke.
That experience changed everything.
We made a promise: if healing was possible for us, we would dedicate our lives to helping others—and their families—heal as well.