Many turn to addictions as a way of self-medicating the despair stimulated by a bleak view of society, writes Matté. The drug addict is more painfully conscious of this void than most people,. Many of us resemble the drug addict in our ineffectual efforts to fill in the spiritual black hole," says Matté. Our consumerist acquisition, action, and image-mad culture only serves to deepen the whole, leaving us emptier than before, he adds.