Previous posts have explored the concept that, in many cases, addiction happens because of a perception of being wronged, followed by a conviction that somebody needs to be punished. For obvious reasons, the most likely candidates are the addict’s parents.

In an extreme case, multiple parents might appear to deserve blame — like the woman who gave up a child for adoption, and the couple (or single) who later adopted the child. Sadly, adoptive parents might take the rap for a lot of bad stuff that never even happened. Unfortunately and illogically, it is possible to blame adoptive parents for not being the “real” parents. Emotions don’t make sense.

But some people are so angry, their hostility extends to the human race in general. Perhaps society should be grateful that such a furious person, rather than becoming a school shooter, marathon bomber, or plane hijacker, is content to become a mere addict.

Self-harm is a topic that encompasses a lot of territory. (Here is a useful AddictionNews search page.) Observers tend to perceive addicts as hedonistic, irresponsible airheads dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure, but, as we have seen, the true source of addiction just might be self-punishment. Not everyone with the compulsion to self-injure will cut themselves. Someone might just exercise to the point of painful exhaustion, and vow to do better next time.

Many factors can push or pull an unstable person toward self-harm. General anxiety and depression are possible causes. There may be relationship conflicts with family members or with unrelated folks, or even total strangers. Financial stress can seriously undermine an individual’s stability. Maybe the person is being bullied, which tends to lower self-esteem. Or maybe their low self-esteem is chronic, so that bullies are even more tempted to attack. Maybe there is unhealed grief, or unresolved trauma of some kind, up to and including a history of being targeted by a criminal degree of abuse.

Any number of underlying mental health problems could be the cause, and the effects of certain drugs attract various people. Stimulants and depressants promise and deliver quite different sensations. Of course, some folks are up for any crazy experiment. But in general, the person who seeks a soft, comfortable cloud of oblivion and forgetfulness is not very similar to the one who goes for the substance that will make them feel like an extremely competent general in charge of a vast army, ready to handle any situation at a moment’s notice.

Substance abuse is often considered to be a manifestation of the self-injury impulse. When someone wants to give herself or himself a hard time, addiction creates a self-perpetuating system that only makes things worse as the weeks turn to months. To complicate matters even more, plenty of self-harm manifestations also belong to the obsessive-compulsive disorder group of behaviors, which might include even “excessive washing.”

To have a dangerous compulsion like shooting up heroin is — let’s face it — considered in some circles to be rather dashing and romantic. But an irresistible urge to wash too much? Ridiculous.

An extreme self-punisher like Elvis Presley is, by some, regarded with awe, even if he did wind up on a bathroom floor without pants. But his legendary dedication to blatant self-destruction is somewhat tarnished by the fact that it encompassed more than drugs. Addiction to fattening substances is particularly undignified and susceptible to ridicule. Food addiction as self-flagellation — how bizarre does that sound?

The concept of addiction as revenge stands on sturdy legs, but — revenge upon whom? For many individuals throughout history, their stated behavioral intention has been to take revenge on the deity, and typically, they have not been shy about advertising that fact.

Journalist Hope Gillette once quoted mental health counselor Monica Amorosi on the subject of typical addicted clients:

For some, self-harm can be just as strong of a behavioral addiction as shopping, gambling, or sex. It can release intense chemicals that become required for regulation, it can cause relief or release; it can become compulsive and out of control. For reasons that may be hard to understand, self-harm is a regulating tool for some, a calming tool for some, and a punishing tool for others.

Written by Pat Hartman. First published December 19, 2025.

Source:

“Is Self-Harm an Addiction?”, Healthline.com, October 5, 2023.

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