Recovery happens when connection replaces coping.

You've noticed, or your friends or family or coworkers have noticed, that there's something you're doing that makes you or others feel negatively about it, or about you. It could be substances (drugs or alcohol) or a process (repetitive behavior) that are problematic. When people push you to stop, you find yourself feeling defensive, or coming up with reasons why you should keep doing it. You feel isolated. 

Addiction happens when people keep doing a behavior in spite of negative consequences. There's some payoff for it, or else people would stop. Trying to shame someone out of a behavior has a tendency to increase that behavior by supporting a cycle in which the shame--which leads to secrecy and hiding--is resolved by repeating the identified behavior. 

Recovery comes in a multitude of shapes and hues. People dealing with addictions are intelligent and insightful. Addiction is about avoidance, numbing, and coping. Recovery is about safety, connection, and being present to oneself and others. Therapy helps with connecting to oneself, identifying the emotional reasons for the numbing, and providing skills to chart new paths. It isn't easy, and it is worth it.