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Bowl Leader
Acceptance is the answer.
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Pro
By definition, an addiction is harmful, so no.
There are addictions that are less physically harmful than others, such as fitness, but in my experience, such an addiction is indicative of underlying emotional stress and lack of inner peace.
In early sobriety, I worked out compulsively and was in great shape, but still very restless, irritable, and discontented.
As I became more emotionally stable, I continued to work out, but the "why" changed from 100% ego and mirror driven to a genuine desire to be healthy and keepnyp with our 7 year old. I am now able to skip a day here and there, or change up my routine when it's busy and certain machines are occupied, where as before missing a workout sent me into depression, and I got irate when someone was on "my" machine.
It's now just habit and lifestyle, and not something I am using to seek relief.
I think even an addiction to something considered healthy like working out would be problematic if you’re at the gym all the time and don’t spend enough time working on on other aspects of your health (social, spiritual, etc.)
Agree with Associate 1. Anything that you do compulsively - often at the expense of something else - feels problematic to me. It's not so much the activity itself, but the mental side of things that leads you to pursuing it relentlessly. It doesn't seem healthy, although I don't know enough about psychology to say if it's as problematic as it seems to me.
An addition is something that you cannot control and that takes over your life. There is nothing healthy about that, regardless of what the actual vice happens to be.
Rising Star
I don't know about healthy, but many ppl might believe they have a controlled addiction or habit. But personally speaking, I don't know how one can form such a perspective until they get sober by comparison. For a long, long time I classified myself as a high functioning alcoholic. By most external measures - career, income, accomplishment, lack of "red flags" (no day drinking during the week, no DUIs, etc.). But once I started AA and stopped drinking, I saw much more clearly how "uncontrolled" my controlled drinking was, and how much I was hurting myself and my closest relationships.
When you say "healthy addiction" you're sort of messing with the definition of addiction which is compulsive behavior having negative impacts on your life. Obviously you can channel that proclivity for obsession into healthier avenues like exercise, eating well, etc. But those too can easily become disruptive and negative.
Bowl Leader
“Healthy”? Probably not. But is one addiction “relatively” less damaging than another, sure. Anything taken to the extremes is sure to cause issues.
Hmm I don't think so OP although I do appreciate the question because it did really make me think about it. But like someone said above addiction by its very definition is harmful so there is no such thing as a healthy addiction.