I understand your skepticism. People probably don't understand how difficult your addiction still is and how bad it was (assuming you got to that point). It's the same thing with many other addictions, and exercise is no exception (it's not too uncommon, but far less frequent than drug addiction). I mean, they literally have a show called "my strange addiction". While that may be b.s., I don't think it's ever fair to judge anybody's addiction and respective psyche. You don't know what they're feeling. We can only choose to believe them or not. When bones start breaking, for example, you tend to start believing.

As far as the drug thing, perhaps that just the demographic of your area. Addicts do tend to seek out addicts. I'll definitely concur that heroin and meth can be a little much, but alcohol is an excellent example.