Colonial bliss 51 Addictions We live today in a highly addictive society, and the pressures on us to buy into these addictions are enormous, both from advertising and from peer pressure: alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, drugs, money, sugar, TV, sex, computer games, shopping, even work! The central teachings of Buddhism tell us that all human suffering is caused by our cravings, and that it is in releasing ourselves from our addictive patterns that we achieve personal freedom. At Lifetech Consultants, it is a vital part of our personal strategy to work to eliminate our various addictions on a gentle gradient. This has a tremendously liberating effect on our life as a whole; and every aspect of our life starts to work so much better, once we have asserted dominance over our ego-based addictions through personal self-control.