Car - your posts seem awfully familiar to some posts I've seen at elitetrader. I think this post was verbatim from a thread.
I'll be upfront - so far, your posts are rocking the boat. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, as I have done that myself, but just keep that in mind. Referring to trading as correlated to gamblers anonymous is a stretch if trading is your livelihood. For some, myself included, this is how we pay the bills and create wealth for ourselves and families. So, am I 'addicted' to trading, I'm sure many would say yes. And that's fine with me b/c in order for me to be at the top of my game (and you must be when trading), I need to be 'addicted' to the markets.
I would also argue that the more 'addicted' the trader is, the greater the success. I realize that's debatable, but I will take the trader that studies before and after the markets, studies and documents over the weekend and busts their ass during the day over the guy that just casually goes at it. Even though the casual guy is not 'addicted', I think his potential for success would be next to 0.
So, is it good to be 'addicted' to your 'job' as a trader? I would say yes, esp in the beginning. Anyone that goes into this thinking they will just conquer it with casual work hours is sorely mistaken. If it takes being an 'addict' to get there, so be it.