I don't suffer from addiction, but I can say that a key challenge with almost any "disorder" is recognizing that the disorder is causing leading to consequences

I don't suffer from addiction, but I can say that a key challenge with almost any "disorder" is recognizing that the disorder is causing leading to consequences in your life that you don't want, yet continue to occur. It's the key distinction between a disorder and a "personality quirk". Acknowledging that you don't have that kind of control is a huge psychological cliff to get over... it has been likened to mourning. In the end, it is quite freeing, because as you pointed out, it opens up a lot of options (power) to deal with your problem in a different way than you normally would (particularly: acknowledging that you need help). So, while you are write that "powerlessness" probably is far too sweeping a word to use... it's helpful for getting people over that mental cliff and into a place where they can, ironically, exert some degree of power over their problems.