It is common to develop a drug or alcohol addiction as part of a coping mechanism. That can absolutely make your life more difficult. Coping mechanisms can make it more difficult to make changes that will better your life.
The path of least resistance isn't always the easiest path.
When people try to drown someone with create water they aren't talking about creating water then drowning the person the old fashioned way, it's "I cast create water in the lungs of that guy!"
Other popular "ideas" include - -Casting light on someone's eyes so they go blind -Trying to target eardrums with shatter -Conflating charm person with dominate person -Attacking with mage hand -prestidigitation solves every problem and has no limits
It's not that there is an arbitrary "number too low" problem, it's that these spells explicitly state what they can do. Players sometimes feel "creativity" means they perform actions the spell doesn't allow, and moreover are actually achieved by much more powerful spells.