At first people consume substances such as drugs or alcohol, or engage in activities such as gambling or pornography to make themselves feel good.  The Karma of continuing to practice addictive behavior chains is that they become autonomous, and the person becomes dependent on the external source of control.  Once this happens, it is difficult to reverse the process.  None of the many different approaches to treating addictive disorders produce satisfactory long-term outcome. 

Treatment programs for addictive disorders have unacceptably high relapse rates, and many approaches have iatrogenic consequences.¹  For this reason, good long-term outcome requires not just immediate behavior change, but Relapse Prevention.  Unfortunately, the behavior change that results from complying with a treatment program tends to be temporary.   

The influence of external control weakens when the external factors are removed.  Drivers slow down when they see a police car, but will speed up a few miles later; decongestant nasal spray is effective for a few hours, but eventually wears off.

Externally directed treatment is often comfortable for dependent individuals.  They want something external to take responsibility for achieving success, because they have lost faith in their own ability to manage themselves.  Intrusive treatment can produce short term behavior change, but rarely leads to freedom from dependence. 

A different strategy is to develop internal control of behavior -  Independence.    While it takes energy to influence your own course, there is a payoff:  the change is irreversible!  Rather than wear off, self-determination becomes more robust with time and experience. 

But, while self-determination sounds good, most of us don't want it.  Responsibility is a pain!  The fact is, we don't have complete control over events, and have only limited control over outcomes.  We often fail through no - or only partial - fault of our own; when we accept responsibility these failures hurt all the more.  How much easier it is to abdicate responsibility and receive the bonus of something else to blame for the expected pain of failure.    

Escape From Freedom

Because we are free, we are constantly making decisions, and every decision affects our lives. In some way, we are responsible for nearly everything that happens to us.  We get what is coming to us in the form of the natural consequences of our behavior. 

The alternative to accepting responsibility for how we live our lives is the belief in external responsibility:  We can only have influence over outcomes to the extent we know the secret protocols, or the magical words.  The Buddha meditated for many years in a search for the secret to understanding the human condition.   His insight is simple, and once you appreciate it you can be free of this illusion, and instead follow the Path of Greatest Advantage.