Addictions can be destructive. They can ruin friendships, marriages and lives and are no laughing matter.

Well, most of them anyway.

We all know that it’s horrible when people are addicted to alcohol, drugs or any of numerous other dangerous vices.

They’ve made television shows about people who are addicted to things like hoarding, tanning, eating plastic bags, growing their nails, and loving their cars.

Sometimes it’s hard to see when people are addicted, or are becoming addicted, to something as they tend to try and hide it from everyone.

It’s just as difficult to confront someone who has an addiction.

I currently live with someone who is an addict and Wednesday night I saw someone heading down the same destructive path as my wife. To make matters worse Tammy was helping him down the same candy-coated road that she’s been been walking down for the past year.

Tammy is a Candy Crush/Farm Town Heroes Heroes Saga/Pet Rescue Saga addict and it turns out my friend Eric is headed down the same path.

We were at their house Wednesday night for our weekly American Horror Story get together when Eric started asking Tammy about Candy Crush.

Eric: What level are you on?
Tammy: I’m on Level 266.
Eric: Wow!! I’ve been on Level 23 for three days now.

All I could think was “uh-oh” because Candy Crush had just sunk it’s claws into another unsuspecting victim.

Eric was just finding out the time suck that is Candy Crush and was looking for support. Unfortunately Tammy was all to ready to lure him into the web that she’s been stuck in for the past 12+ months.

I’m all too familiar with how addictive those silly “Facebook” games can be as I am a recovering addict myself.

I was so into Farmville that I had spreadsheets to tell me which crops were the most profitable. Café World had me so addicted that I would call Tammy if I was going to be late so she could sign in as me and take “food” off the stove so it wouldn’t go bad.

When Tammy needs help in the games (i.e., out of lives or needs friends to unlock levels) she uses her sweet charm to get me to sign up. Most of the time I end up playing the games for a while, or at least until they get too hard.

I eventually was able to walk away from all the games, but it wasn’t easy. I fear that it will be even more difficult for Tammy, and eventually Eric.

In fact, Tammy might be too far gone to even try to save at this point. On any given night she’ll play 3-4 different games, rotating between them as she runs out of lives.

I got her an ipad for Christmas so should wouldn’t have to sit with her laptop all night long, only to find out her newest game, Farm Rescue Saga, wasn’t mobile friendly. The ipad went untouched for nearly two weeks.

I think everyone in our complex knew when Farm Rescue Saga became mobile ready. But her excitement was short-lived because the mobile game only was up to Level 160 and Tammy was passed that.

Part of me feels like I should have done more to prevent Eric’s descent into the game, especially after Mary told me she started playing a few days later.

But, at the same time, I feel like they need to experience the time suck first hand. In order for them to truly understand the depths of what I’m talking about they need to hit the bottom of the barrel themselves.

Apparently Tammy has one REEAAALLLY long barrel.