Today’s topic of discussion is addiction. Why do we get addicted?

The simple answer is that addictive stuff is pleasurable and we just like to do stuff that is pleasurable, but that’s not complete, e.g. nobody goes to rehab for patting kittens.

The reason for the problem of addiction — feelings of guilt and shame result in self hatred and desire for self-destruction that is channeled by a given substance or behavior. This is confirmed by the success of the 12 step programs — remove the guilt and shame and the addiction takes care of itself.

It’s like your problem is that you think you have a problem, and also that society thinks you do. Your problem is other people.