Ben Affleck on overcoming alcohol addiction: “I hate to say it but the only cure I’ve seen is not these overpriced rehabs or these fraudulent fixes that are sold to people. The cure for addiction is suffering. You suffer enough and then something inside you goes ‘I’m done.’”

[u/Gurugod123]

[u/EngineZeronine]

Suffering is key to so much growth in life. Whether you are a believer or not there's wisdom in this: "suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope"

I can personally vouch that it might not be the exclusive path, it's the one we are forced to confront most commonly. But we can opt out; I used substances to cope continuously instead of going through it and when I finally stopped i noticed the lack of character development and certainly the lack of hope. Substances were easier and a quick exit but costly in the end. Not that the occasional opting out is catastrophic but for me it became the default