Causes and Symptoms Now that we understand that for an addict, using is actually his or her best attempt at treating the real problem, we must ask: What is that real problem? In so many words, we have already said that the addict has a fundamental inability to live peacefully and contentedly and uses his or her drug of choice to induce a temporary state of relief from his or her deep, incessant discomfort with life. But that still doesn’t really answer the question. It still doesn’t tell us what the problem really is. What is it that makes the addict unable to handle life in the first place?
