So we were thus  very interested to find this article (1) which describes how we are not the first to view alcoholism and addiction this way.

Here we use this article to present a  brief history of research, dating back to the 1930s, that has viewed alcoholism and addiction in a similar way to we do now in 2014.

“Life, as we find it, is too hard for us; it brings us too many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks. In order to bear it we cannot dispense with palliative measures. (…), intoxicating substances, which make us insensitive to it” (Freud, 1930, p. 75).

Rado (1933) was the first to describe substance use as a way of coping with excessively difficult states of emotions (3).

Others subsequently interpret…