The addicted mind and filling the void within
Addiction is an insatiable form of hunger like a ravenous animal desperate for relief, consuming everything in its path. There are varying vices for the addicted mind such as heroin, cocaine, cigarettes, sex, tv and sugar, with a wide spectrum of intensity. Anyone in the throes of a serious addiction knows the brutality of the experience. The highs not so high any longer, the lows just keep getting worse and worse.
There are many theories and some good evidence about the causes of addiction. Genetic predispositions can definitely have an impact. Childhood trauma often shows up with people who have addictive constitutions. A huge loss can open the doorway for people into drug abuse.
With various addictions I have faced in my own past, and with the many experiences my clients have shared, I have found that there is usually a void, or emptiness, or an insatiable hole that we are trying to fill. It might be the desperation of wanting more from life but not knowing how to get it. Or the hook of seeking peak states or relief from low states. Sometimes that hole has been empty for our whole lives.
I know after many years of working with these states that addicts can learn how to satiate and soothe and reawaken fulfillment. It is a matter of setting the intention and developing a strong community of accountability. And it is entirely possible.