I believe that as children receive outdated and flawed "programming", that our parent/caregivers, our only source for learning and love, have inherently passed that down generations with the inability to see or plainly understand the level of disfunction their offspring are experiencing. In most cases, as is mine, this is done with a high degree of pride. As children often "act out", early on their behavior is misinterpreted as a behavioral issue, instead of attempting to communicate with the child who is most likely confused and/or mirroring the adult in their lives. Children then get put on medication, get ignored, or abused because the parents cannot see the problem for what it is. This strengthens the child's struggle and the feelings of pain, confusion and fear becomes a burden to silence or numb. This becomes an addictive issue as alcohol and drugs run the mental state by alleviating the heavy weight carried into adulthood.
There is a sliver of hope but it doesn't arise without more suffering. With strong friction either in their live or within themselves, some individuals will simply refuse to carry the flawed inheritance any further.
In my personal opinion, I believe that the term "Awakening" comes from this process.