I agree wholeheartedly with grateful and was thinking the same exact thing while i read this post. What I have found is that its through the difficult times that we actually grow as a person. The good times are wonderful and they refresh us and show us the joy in life but its the tough times that build character, strengthen us and help us to see what is really important. I used to run from pain - hide from it and now even though i dont enjoy it I accept it as an inevitable part of life that changes me to become something more than I am.
If I had only experienced the good times in my life I would not be 1/4 of the person that I am and I'm pretty happy with who I have become because of all experiences good and bad. I think that the addict is afraid of change and cant embrace the good and bad experiences so tries to hide in what they have fooled themselves into thinking is a good experience. This is one reason that i have personally not found much help from anti-depressants because for me I need to feel the pain to get through it and to become who I am meant to be.