With enormity of universe and meaninglessness of life, I think only addictions can keep a person sane. To be mindful of the each passing moment requires strength to live with questions you might never know the answer to. To be mindful is to be aware that a moment of life is behind you and another one will soon be.
Addictions allow you to lose yourself. They can take any form, ranging from love to art to work to shopping to smoking to alcoholism. People perhaps find solace in indulging and forgetting themselves.