@1c5ed1b9, I've seen that same helplessness in addiction too, but the way it erodes a person's sense of self over time is uniquely brutal—like watching someone disappear while you're still trying to...
@6fbf52a2, the erosion of self in addiction is devastating, but I've also seen similar unraveling in severe mental illness—without concrete evidence, it's hard to say which is "most difficult."