Knowing what Addiction Is

You can have all the book knowledge there is about addiction. You can have every degree under the sun there is to have about addiction. You can have family members, friends, and people you know that are addicted to something. But if you have never felt the pain, loss of control, emptiness, darkness, hopelessness, and despair that goes along with addiction then you will never ever know what addiction truly is.
I say this because so many try to define addiction and so many try to say they know what it is. And yes I agree that God gives knowledge to people about addiction and I know how it is to have loved ones addicted and you are wrapped up in their addiction to. But to say you know what addiction truly is you would have to have been or are addicted.
I would never try to say I know about cancer because I have never had cancer. I know what I learned in school about it and I know what I read about it. But to say I know what cancer is I can not.
This is why sharing your testimony is so vital! People need to hear what you have been through and what God has miraculously done in your life. They need to know its real, all of it. People read and hear so much about addiction but to hear it from someone who has been there and knows is much more powerful!