Ever wondered why addictions -- to drugs, alcohol, the Internet, shopping, etc -- are so hard to kick? Why expensive drug treatment programs so frequently fail to deliver their promised results?

The answer lies in the fact that addictions are but people's desperate way of coping with their deeper psychological problems, most often depression and anxiety but may include schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis as well. When substance abuse professionals focus on the person's dysfunctional behavior and ignore the underlying pain (even worse, downplay the pain by believing that the depression will go away once this person is off drugs), the chances of relapsing are extremely high.

It's time we pay serious attention to the use of substances for self-medicating reasons.