February 4, 2018:

I imagine this is the origin of the mythology of addiction as demonic possession.

Something inside you overrides your volition. "I don't want this I don't want this I don't want this I don't want this." But it happens, and "you" didn't do it. The ego frontal lobe portion of your brain wasn't involved. Your lizard brain made the decision, so that it feels as though the will were someone else's.

Unless you're my ex's shit-horrible family of evangelical hypocrites. Then the mythology of demonic possession has a more prosaic origin. It's a syllogism so simple a grammar schooler could do it: Our daughter rebels against our mother — rebelling against our mother is the same thing as rebelling against God — therefore our daughter is possessed by devils.

Where Mom loved and encouraged that idea, particularly the identification of herself with the Almighty.

That's a whole different addiction altogether.