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The Psychology Of an ADDICT (And How to Heal) - Carl Jung
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There's something quietly devastating
about how addiction creeps into our
lives. You don't always notice it at
first. It's not always a syringe or a
bottle. Sometimes it looks like your
ninth scroll on Instagram in under a
minute. Sometimes it's needing someone's
text just to feel okay. Sometimes it's a
second episode, then a third, then a
season, and it starts to feel normal
until it doesn't. You're not chasing a
high anymore. You're escaping a low. And
the scary part is most of us don't even
know where that low comes from. And if
you asked Swiss psychologist Carl Jung
how to treat addiction, he wouldn't
start with a detox. He wouldn't even
focus on the behavior. He'd ask about
your soul. Because Jung believed
addiction wasn't the problem. It was the
symptom. We live in a world that's
dopamine deprived and stimulus obsessed.
Our brains are constantly trying to feel
better, but they're stuck in a loop.
Dopamine, the chemical we associate with
motivation and reward, is drying up. Not
just because of what we do, but because
of what we don't understand about
ourselves. Jung called this the
disconnection from the self. Not your
ego, not your job title, yourself, the
deepest, most integrated version of who
you truly are. The part of you that's
connected to purpose, creativity, and
meaning. Addiction, according to Jung,
is a spiritual thirst, a call from the
unconscious, not just for relief, but
for wholeness. In his words, "Every form
of addiction is bad, no matter whether
the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or
idealism." What he meant was, "The root
isn't the substance, it's the
emptiness." This is where most modern
approaches to addiction fall short. We
treat the habit, but we don't meet the
human. We patch the leak, but ignore the
cracked foundation. Young believed that
lasting healing only comes when we're
brave enough to look inward at the
shadow parts of ourselves we've buried.
The parts we judge, the parts we fear,
the parts that are begging to be seen,
not silenced. And if that feels
overwhelming, you're not alone. Because
here's the truth. The shadow isn't bad.
It is repressed energy. And ironically,
it's where the healing lives. But here's
the amazing part. Wait for it. Jung
didn't just leave us with theories. He
left a map. A psychological and
spiritual toolkit to begin reintegrating
what's been lost. Tools that help us
understand why the dopamine is gone in
the first place and how to live in a way
that naturally restores it. Not by
chasing pleasure, but by aligning with
purpose. We're going to get into those
tools. practical ones, spiritual ones,
even ones you can start
today. So stay until the end of this
video because what you'll discover isn't
just how to treat addiction, it's how to
finally understand the part of you
that's been calling out through it.
And before we continue, if you're
someone who loves expanding your mind
and exploring the deeper layers of life,
make sure to subscribe to Fractal Wisdom
so you never miss a moment of this
journey inward. So, if addiction is the
symptom and not the cause, then what's
underneath it? Let's talk about
dopamine, not as a buzzword, but as a
messenger. Dopamine isn't just the
feelgood chemical. It's the drive behind
every little action that makes us feel
alive. It is motivation, anticipation,
and reward. The ping of a message, the
first bite of dessert, the warm text
that says, "Thinking of you." And when
you're running low on dopamine, life
starts to feel gray, uninspired, and
flat. That's when the craving begins.
But dopamine depletion doesn't start
with Netflix or fast food. It usually
starts way way earlier. It starts with
emotional suppression with environments
where authenticity had a cost where
maybe you had to be the good kid or the
strong one or the fixer. You learn to
push your needs aside to survive. And in
that push, you disconnected from the
self. Jung called this psychic
splitting. It's when you bury the parts
of you that weren't welcome and build a
mask instead. And what does the brain do
with that kind of chronic disconnection?
It searches for relief. Some chase it in
a bottle, others in a partner or a
screen. But it's not about the thing.
It's about the feeling they're trying to
recreate. A spark of meaning, a sense of
being enough, even if just for a moment.
So now we're caught not in addiction but
in a loop inner emptiness leading to
dopamine crash, escape behavior, shame,
and then more
emptiness. Carl Jung understood that
healing this loop isn't about willpower.
It's about
integration. He once wrote, "We don't
become enlightened by imagining figures
of light, but by making the darkness
conscious." That means turning toward
the part of you that's hurting, not
avoiding it. That means asking, "What
pain is this addiction trying to
anesthetize? And what part of me have I
abandoned in order to
cope?" This is where Yung's approach
radically differs from traditional
models. He didn't just want you sober,
he wanted you whole. And that wholeness
starts with awareness. With seeing the
patterns not as failures, but as clues.
little smoke signals from your
unconscious guiding you home. This is
why Jung believed dreams were sacred,
why symbols and archetypes mattered.
They were messages from the parts of
ourselves we forgot. The child, the
rebel, the healer, the wounded one, all
still alive inside you. And until we
make space for them, we'll keep trying
to feel whole through things that were
never meant to complete us. But there's
good news because the moment you stop
seeing addiction as a failure and start
seeing it as a message is the moment healing
healing
begins. Addiction isn't who you are.
It's a coping mechanism your psyche
created to protect you from a pain you
never got to process. But now you're
ready. You're
curious. And that's everything. So let's
explore three tools. practical spiritual
and soul nourishing that can help you
connect with your deeper self and reveal
what's really behind those compulsive
patterns. These tools aren't about
fighting the addiction, they're about
listening to
it. Tool number one, shadow work. Carl
Jung's most revolutionary idea was the
shadow. The hidden part of our psyche
where we store everything we've
rejected, denied, or judged about
ourselves. the anger, the sadness, the
jealousy, the fear, even the desire to
feel powerful, loved or seen. These
parts don't disappear. They just go
underground and they leak out through
our addictions, projections, and
patterns. Shadow work is the process of
making the unconscious conscious. It's
sitting down with yourself and asking
what part of me have I locked away
because I thought it was
unacceptable. What truth do I not want
to look at but desperately need to? You
can begin shadow work through
journaling. Try asking yourself, "If my
addiction had a voice, what would it say
to me?" Write without judgment. Let it
speak. You might be surprised how much
truth is waiting just beneath the surface.
surface.
Tool number two, breath work. Now, Jung
never taught breath work, but if he were
alive today, he might see it as one of
the most direct ways to meet the
unconscious through the body. Breath
work is the practice of using conscious
rhythmic breathing to bypass the
thinking mind and tap into stored
emotional energy. Our breath is the one
bodily function that's both automatic
and under our control. And it can be
used as a portal to the unconscious.
When you breathe consciously, especially
in a connected or circular pattern, you
send a signal to your nervous system
that says, "It's safe now. You can let
go." What often follows is the release
of buried emotions, unresolved trauma,
or even long-forgotten memories. Some
people cry, some laugh, some shake, some
feel clarity they've never felt before.
This isn't just emotional detox. It's
psychological integration. You're
clearing the energetic blocks that
addiction tried to numb. Addiction
numbs. Breath work reveals. Even one
session can make you realize the thing
you were craving wasn't a substance. It
was yourself. Tool number three,
symbolic ritual as a dialogue with the
soul. Carl Jung often said, "The soul
speaks in images." That's why symbols,
dreams, and rituals carry such power.
They bypass the intellect and speak
directly to the unconscious. When we're
stuck in addiction, it's not just our
habits that are out of sync. It's often
our inner world that's been silenced or
ignored. Ritual becomes a way to reopen
that dialogue. But we're not talking
about empty ceremony. We're talking
about a conscious act of connection.
Here's a powerful symbolic ritual you
can try. Find a quiet space and light a
candle. Fire is a timeless symbol of
purification. Sit with a mirror and look
into your own eyes. Not to judge, not to
criticize, but to witness. Say aloud, "I
know I've been trying to escape
something. I don't fully understand it
yet, but I'm here ready to listen. Write
a letter to the part of you that's
addicted. Not to shame it, but to
understand it. Then fold it up and place
it beneath the candle. Let it burn for
15 minutes while you breathe and just
stay present. This is less about fixing
and more about reconnecting. You're
letting your deeper self know you're not
alone anymore. So now that we've looked
at the symptoms, we've met the shadow
and started the work of reconnection.
It's time for the real alchemy, the
transformation. Because healing
addiction isn't just about breaking a
habit. It's about becoming someone new,
or rather someone truer. It's about
answering the call that addiction was
trying to silence all along. This is the
path Carl Jung called individuation. The
journey of becoming your whole self. Not
perfect, not polished, but integrated.
You see, most people think healing means
returning to who they were before the
addiction. But Jung would tell you that
version of you was already split,
already disconnected, already
suffering. The goal isn't to go back.
It's to go through and become the
version of you that addiction was
pointing you toward. The version of you
who feels whole without needing to escape.
escape.
Let's talk about what that actually
looks like in everyday
life. Step one, create a life that feeds
your soul, not just your
schedule. Jung believed that most
neurosis stemmed from a life not lived.
That includes the job that drains you,
relationships that numb you, the routine
that leaves your spirit unexpressed. You
don't heal in a vacuum. You heal in an
environment that reflects your truth. So
ask yourself, what in my life feeds the
addiction? And what feeds my
authenticity? Start small. One choice a
day, one honest conversation, one
creative outlet, one boundary honored.
These are not just acts of discipline.
They are acts of
soul. Step two, let meaning replace
stimulation. Addiction thrives in a life
that is overstimulated and
underconnected. We scroll instead of
speak. We binge instead of reflect. We
consume instead of create. So instead of
asking how do I stop the habit, ask what
is this craving asking for? Emotionally,
spiritually, replace the dopamine loop
with meaning loops. Things like creating
art without judging it. Sitting with
silence and asking yourself what you
feel. Reading something that stirs you,
not just entertains you. Spending time
with people who hold space, not just
small talk. When your life becomes a
space where your true self is welcome,
addiction starts to lose its grip. Step
three, see relapse as a messenger, not a
failure. Young was clear. Healing is not
linear. The unconscious doesn't move in
straight lines. It spirals. It circles.
It repeats patterns until they're truly
integrated. Relapse, if it happens,
isn't shameful. It is information. It's
your psyche saying, "You missed
something. Let's look again." You are
not back at square one. You're just on a
deeper layer of the spiral. And this
time, you've got tools, awareness,
language, community, compassion.
The real miracle is when addiction
becomes the reason you found yourself.
When the thing that once broke you
becomes the doorway to your
liberation. Because that's what
individuation is. Not
self-improvement. Not recovery. It is
reclamation. The returning of all the
lost parts of you. the shadow, the
child, the artist, the dreamer, the
spiritual seeker, and weaving them into
one radiant, coherent life. So, if
you've been waiting for a sign, this is
it. This is the beginning of your
return. If this journey has spoken to
you, even in a whisper, comment below,
"I'm coming home." And if you haven't
already, subscribe to Fractal Wisdom for
more videos that go way beyond the
surface and straight into the soul. You
are not broken. You are becoming. Your
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