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The relationship pattern in addiction is similar to what we encounter in fetishism. But we also thought it would be interesting to think about the addiction process in comparison to melancholy. The object qualities in addiction, the “pocket object,” both cure and poison, is the recipient of the melancholic part of the ego. This process follows the rules of projective identification. Therefore, addiction could be understood as a way for people to defend themselves from their fear of a melancholic collapse. Sex addicts give us a perfect example of a relationship toward another who is bereft of their words and reified to better serve their function. Addicts lose themselves in this setting, risking being caught by the agony they so fear. But sometimes they make the choice to seek out a psychoanalyst who then has the responsibility to give them another chance, another way of being alive.