re: How do you feel about Ben Affleck saying that the cure to addiction is only suffering?

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Too much of a blanket statement, I think. You can overcome some addictions without much or any suffering. On the other hand, there are many addictions that are impossible to overcome without suffering physically and mentally. Often severe suffering.

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I agree with the first half: a person doesn't need to suffer. Overcoming an addiction is specifically an act of will-- a decision to promote another facet of life or relationship over the source of addiction. In its simplest form, that is it.

To be fair, the reality of many or most is that suffering is required to generate momentum to decide to change. But I think it's easy to imagine other circumstances that accomplish the same end. Think of an addict who becomes a parent and feels a strong impulse of love towards the child... so much so that they decide to clean up or otherwise put their past behind them. In this case, the positive emotion of love is the source of momentum-- not suffering. For others, it might be an epiphany of sorts as to who they might become and that vision simply becomes more important than the pleasure or emotional pull of the addiction.

In the absence of a positive love-oriented force, which many don't find due to selfishness (generally speaking) suffering until the pain becomes unbearable and forces change is simply most likely.