can addicts stop - TheAddictedPlanet.com

can addicts stop?

Q: A certain sports anchor mentioned a gambling addiction he quit cold-turkey over 40 years ago. Assuming he never relapsed, is it really accurate to say he is/was a gambling addict, if the definition of “addict” implies not being able to stop?

A: If he has not relapsed, he is “a recovering gambling addict”.

relapse
to fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice
As insurance against relapse I moved to a new town the day I completed rehab and started my life over in a new place with all new friends.

recovery
a return to normal health
He enjoyed a complete recovery from the surgery.
Although he is a recovering addict with 20 years clean, he still works the 12 Steps at least 15 minutes every day because he understands that there is no hurry in recovery because he will never been done recovering.

addict
a person who is addicted, particularly to a harmful drug
She is an alcohol addict.
He is a drug addict.
She is a chocolate chip cookie addict.
An addict is a special person who is chosen by the almighty universe–one of universe’s chosen ones–chosen to suffer great traumas and many struggles, in order to recover from addiction and emerge strong enough to pass along his or her learned wisdom and positive energy to the rest of humanity and back into the universe.
Because addicts love what they are addicted to more than anything or anyone else, they typically hold onto false beliefs until they hit bottom and are forced to face the reality that the love of their life does not love them at all.
Every year, 150,000,000 suffering addicts hit bottom around the world and decide that it’s time to become a recovering addict.
Until a suffering drug addict or alcohol addict (alcoholic) hits bottom and decides to become a recovering addict, and then learns from an addiction recovery sponsor how to become a non-relapsing recovering addict, his addiction will inevitably spiral down to either jail/prison, a mental institution or an early death; and, somewhere along the way, relapsing addicts always end up losing their jobs, all of their friends and lovers, and, finally, their families give up on them too.