Hi Golden, Addition to alcohol in my case was connected to gambling. When drinking I would play the lottery out of desperation to replace bill and house money I spent. I even used gambling as a way to justify my drinking. I would be down to my last few dollars. I'd be ready to head home. Then, I'd hit a winner and have money to drink. Then the statement, " Hey, if God didn't want me to drink, he wouldn't have provided this money. I got trapped after stopping for awhile. I've also heard other Veterans talk about it. We used gambling as a replacement for booze or drugs. I agree with what I've been told that people that have addictions in most cases apply it to their whole life. By that they mean, many times we are work-aholics, spend-aholics etc.
I myself, gone unchecked will over do most anything. Also, I know of people that have had the exact same results from gambling. The losses, the stealing, the heart break. There is a Veteran I know that told us he gambled all the retirement money he and his wife spent a lifetime saving. They now both live in a nursing home, seperate ones at that. Don W