Not Broken, Just Hurting: The Spiritual Side of Addiction

Addiction is a symptom of spiritual hunger and a soul-level wound we were never taught to name or nurture.

If you believe, as I do, that we’re souls having a human experience, then the addiction conversation shifts into something a lot deeper than just willpower and weakness.

Addiction isn’t the enemy; it’s a wound and a survival strategy. It’s our way of saying, “This bloody hurts, and I don’t know how else to deal with it.” Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, work, people-pleasing, validation, sex, drama, shopping, or scrolling for hours and hours on end on socials, it’s all rooted in the same thing: spiritual hunger.

The angry, lost, pulsating ache of a soul that didn’t receive what it needed, to feel safe, peaceful and loved.

If you were abandoned, betrayed, silenced, or neglected, or you felt like you didn’t matter, or you weren’t enough, then your soul will create loops to escape that pain and find it elsewhere. It’s our system’s unconscious way of coping because seeing the truth of it is all just too much.

It’s also an accessible high that we are in control of. We choose to cancel the low vibes and replace them with high ones. The quick fixes. The deep dependent, and recurring ways of being.