Step 6 Day 1: Addiction isn’t a Sin

Reaching for comfort isn’t weakness. It’s the body’s way of surviving when connection feels unsafe.

Addiction doesn’t arrive because someone is reckless, selfish, or beyond saving. It grows in the cracks left by loneliness, disconnection, and unmet needs. It takes root when the place that was supposed to feel safe instead leaves us afraid to ask for help.

Some people think addiction is about thrill-seeking or weakness. But the truth is, it’s almost always about self-soothing. It takes root when attachment gets interrupted. When love feels unsafe or inconsistent. When reaching out, it gets punished instead of rewarded.

I don’t excuse the harm addiction can cause. I know the wreckage it can leave behind. But I also refuse to keep carrying the lie that anyone's need for comfort is a character flaw. It was a human need.

Self-soothing isn’t a sin. It’s the body’s desperate attempt to calm itself when the world won’t.

Healing isn’t about shaming the behavior. Healing is about understanding it. And then, slowly, imperfectly, learning how to reach for what actually nourishes instead of what numbs.

A Slice of Humble Pie: You didn’t choose the wound. You get to choose the healing.

Reflection: What are some ways you learned to self-soothe when connection was lacking? How can you offer yourself connection now, instead of just comfort?

Affirmation: I no longer shame the ways I survived. I now reach for what nourishes, not numbs.

I invite you to pause here with me. Think about the ways you’ve reached for comfort when connection wasn’t safe. What if those weren’t flaws, but proof of your will to survive?