I'm not religious, so I don't have much respect for 12-step programs in general. The whole "you need a higher power to get better" thing puts it straight into the [censored] category for me.

I do think sometimes treating "just the symptom" isn't a bad thing. If someone is addicted to heroin, stop that addiction. On the other hand, if someone is addicted to the internet or the library or something, I don't it's such a major concern.

I've met some 12-step folks who had stopped their big addiction and still really had issues. Most of them seemed to have moved on to some other (relatively harmless) addictions afterwards. I was never close to any of these people however. I know that 12-step programs can really help with dangerous addictions, but I think they are only a first step.

For the other question, I think only a person who has experienced addiction can understand what it's really like. Most people just look at the behaviors they can see, and from the outside looking in I think a focus on "getting the fix" makes sense.