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August 22, 2025 22 mins
What if your desires weren’t a weakness, but a hidden message from your subconscious?
Carl Jung believed that addiction is never just about the substance or habit, it’s a signal from the deepest parts of yourself, asking to be acknowledged and understood.
In this episode, we reveal why so many people stay trapped in patterns of dependence and how you can finally break free using Jung’s profound psychological insights.
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's a truth about addiction that most people never hear.
One secret that can set you free if you let it.
But you'll only find it if you watch until the
very end. Don't look away, because missing this might mean
staying trapped forever. You probably don't realize how much of

(00:23):
your life is shaped by battles you can't see. Addiction
is more than cigarettes, alcohol, food, or scrolling your phone
late at night. It's the ancient war inside you, a
battle between what you want and what you truly need,
between comfort and courage, between the shadow and the self.

(00:45):
Carl Jung saw addiction not as weakness, but as a symptom,
a message from the soul. People will do anything, no
matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls. He wrote,
it's not laziness or lack of will power that traps you.
It's the fear of meeting your real self in the dark.

(01:09):
Imagine you're alone in your room. The world is asleep.
You feel the itch, a quiet pull towards something that
promises to make the pain go away. You know it
won't last, but for a moment, you just want relief.
You light the cigarette, you open the app, you pour

(01:30):
the drink, You lose yourself for a little while, hoping
you can forget what you're trying so hard not to feel.
But after the high, there's the crash, the shame, the
silent promise to never do it again, the question why
do I I keep doing this even when I know

(01:54):
how it ends. Most people see cravings as enemies, monsters
to be slain or hidden away, but Jung's philosophy turns
everything upside down. He believed that every urge, every compulsion,

(02:14):
is a messenger, a part of your mind trying to
speak a truth that your waking self has refused to hear.
Think about it. If you were perfectly content, perfectly whole,
what would you need to numb, what would you need
to escape? Cravings are the language of the soul's pain.

(02:37):
Addiction isn't just about chemicals or habits. It's about what's
missing in your life. It's not a battle of strength,
it's a puzzle of meaning. This is why so many fail.
They focus on discipline, but never ask, what is this
urge trying to tell me? What part of me? Have
I locked away in the basement hoping it will disappear.

(03:03):
In Jung's psychology, the shadow is everything You've rejected everything,
You've denied everything, you're ashamed to admit, even to yourself.
The more you hide your shadow, the more powerful it grows.
Addiction is the shadow's favorite disguise. It shows up as comfort,

(03:23):
but it feeds on your silence. You think, I just
want to relax, I just want to feel good. I
just want to stop thinking for a while. But underneath
the shadow whispers You're not enough, You're alone. You'll never change.
Every addiction is a mask for pain. Most people spend

(03:46):
their lives rearranging the mask, never realizing that the real
transformation only begins when you dare to look beneath it.
We live in a culture obsessed with self control. Just
say no, be strong. But if that worked, you wouldn't

(04:09):
be here. Young would say. The shadow is not defeated
by force. It is only transformed by attention. Imagine trying
to push a beach ball under water. The harder you press,
the more it fights back. This is how most people live, suppressing, denying, fighting. Eventually,

(04:33):
the beach ball explodes to the surface stronger than before.
You can't white knuckle your way out forever. The craving
always returns. The real question isn't how to suppress it,
but how to understand it. Here is where things change.

(04:57):
The next time you feel the urge, don't run, don't fight,
Just notice, pause and ask what am I really looking
for right now? Is it comfort? Is it distraction? Is
it love? This is the beginning of self mastery. Observing

(05:19):
the craving, not becoming the craving. You may notice a
story running in your mind. Maybe it's fear or loneliness,
or a sense that you're missing out. Maybe it's a
voice that says you'll never be free. But as you notice,
you create a gap, a space where you can choose.

(05:41):
Most people never get this far. They are too busy,
too numb, too scared. They would rather stay in the
dark than risk seeing what's hidden there. But you, right
now have already begun the journey, because curiosity is the
first act of rebellion against addiction's power. Young believed every addiction,

(06:11):
every shadow, is an invitation. If you listen closely, your
craving is asking what have you refused to feel? What
part of you needs to be heard, healed, or welcomed home.
Healing doesn't start by declaring war on yourself. It starts
by making peace with your own wounds, your own longing,

(06:36):
your own forgotten dreams. Most will never do this, they'll fight, fail, blame,
and repeat. But those who stay, those who dare to
ask deeper questions, find something far more valuable than relief.

(06:56):
They find themselves. This video isn't about a miracle cure.
It's about a mirror, one that shows you the parts
you've avoided. If you can face them, even for a moment,
you can begin to write a new story. Stay with me,

(07:17):
because in the next part we go deeper into the
real method Jung used to help people like you finally
break the cycle, and at the end you'll discover the
hidden truth that can make all the difference if you're
willing to see it. Don't let your shadow win by

(07:37):
clicking away. The breakthrough is closer than you think. If
you made it this far, you're already different. Most people
spend their entire lives running from discomfort, never stopping to
ask what's really pulling the strings behind their cravings. You're

(08:00):
called this state possession. When a force inside you acts
as if it's in control and you're just along for
the ride. You say, I don't want to do this,
but your hands your mind, your habits move anyway. It's
as if you become a stranger in your own skin.

(08:21):
Think about it, how many times have you promised yourself
never again, only to find yourself circling back to the
same habit, as if pulled by an invisible tide. The
philosopher Epictetus once wrote, no person is free who is
not master of themselves. But Jung's genius was to show

(08:43):
that self mastery isn't about fighting the tide. It's about
learning to read the currents underneath. Addiction isn't just an action.
It's a ritual, a script you perform when you feel lost, lonely,
or overwhelmed. But here's the secret most never learn. Every

(09:03):
ritual holds meaning. Every habit is a clue. You don't
crave the cigarette, or the drink or the endless scroll
for no reason. Each time, there's a trigger, an event,
a feeling, a thought that makes the world feel too
much or too little. May be its stress after work,

(09:28):
Maybe it's the silence before sleep. May be it's seeing
some one else succeed while you feel left behind. The
craving arrives not as a command, but as a comfort.
It whispers, let's not feel this right now, let's forget,
let's disappear. But what if, just for a moment, you

(09:51):
didn't run. What if you turned around and faced the
craving as young would, and asked, why are you here?
The answer might surprise you. Maybe it's not about the
thing itself, but the feeling you're trying to avoid. Maybe
its loneliness. Maybe it's fear of not being enough. Maybe

(10:13):
it's the echo of a childhood wound still unhealed. Philosophy
teaches us to ask questions even when the answers hurt.
Psychology gives us the courage to sit with discomfort until
it tells us what we need to know. You've heard
it a thousand times. Be disciplined, use will power, But

(10:39):
no one tells you the real secret. Will power is exhaustible.
Every time you resist, you're drawing from a well that
eventually runs dry. When you're tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, the
well empties, and the old pattern returns. Jung compared the

(10:59):
un conscious to a vast ocean. Your conscious will is
a small boat. If you only focus on rowing harder,
you'll get nowhere. But if you learn to read the waves,
if you know what storms are coming. You can navigate
with far less struggle. This is the real skill, learning

(11:20):
to notice your patterns without judging them, to see the
craving not as failure, but as information, information about what's missing,
information about what you truly want. Jung believed in the
magic of names. What you can name, you can tame.

(11:44):
Next time the urge arises, instead of tightening up, pause
and name it. This is anxiety, This is loneliness. This
is the part of me that wants to be soothed.
It may sound simple, even silly, but the act of
naming pulls the craving out of the shadows and into
the light. The more clearly you see it, the less

(12:07):
power it has over you. When you can say, I
know why you're here, you begin to change the story.
Here is where philosophy and psychology meet. The goal isn't
to destroy the craving, but to integrate the lost part

(12:27):
of yourself that's using the craving to cry for help.
Jung wrote, the most terrifying thing is to accept one's
self completely. To accept the craving not as the enemy
but as the voice of a wounded part is to
begin healing for real. How do you do this start

(12:50):
with honesty. When you feel the urge, don't distract yourself,
don't beerate yourself. Instead ask what am I avoiding? What
pain have I refused to feel? What hope did I
give up on long ago? You might feel fear, sadness,

(13:11):
or even anger. That's okay. Most people turn back at
this point, they tell themselves it's too much. But every
time you face your shadow, you take back a little
more of your power. You won't be free in a day,

(13:32):
but every time you bring awareness to your cravings, you
loosen the chains. Every moment of curiosity is a victory
over the old script. Philosophy asks us to endure the
discomfort of not knowing, of sitting in the unknown, and
trusting that something new will emerge. Jung's psychology is an

(13:54):
invitation to patience. Change doesn't happen all at once, but
each ACKed of awareness, each honest question, plants a seed
for the future. As you learn to listen, not run,
not numb, not distract, you start to discover a new

(14:15):
voice inside, a wiser voice, one that doesn't need to
shout or threaten, one that says, I see you, I
know you're hurting, but you don't need to escape any more.
You can stay. This is the beginning of self trust.
This is what Jung called individuation, the journey of becoming whole,

(14:42):
not by cutting away the parts you don't like, but
by welcoming them home. Most people will never know this feeling.
They'll spend their lives chasing relief and missing the lesson.
But you, by staying, are already on the path less traveled.

(15:05):
You might not feel free yet. That's okay, But freedom
isn't a moment. It's a process. It's the result of
a thousand small acts of courage, a thousand moments of
turning toward your pain, not away. The journey continues. In
the next part. You'll learn the final step, how to

(15:29):
use the energy of your cravings as fuel for transformation,
not self destruction, And you'll discover the truth Jung reserved
for his bravest students, a truth that turns addiction into
a teacher, not a curse. Don't miss it, because the
last lesson is the one that changes everything, the alchemy

(15:53):
of craving. You've made it here through the hard questions
and the hidden rooms of your own mind. Most people
would have clicked away by now, scared off by the discomfort,
or by the fear that nothing can change. But you stayed.
That already means something. It means you're not just searching
for relief, You're searching for transformation. Karl Jung didn't believe

(16:18):
in short cuts. He believed in alchemy. He saw life
as a process of turning lead into gold, not by
throwing away what's dark or heavy, but by melting it down,
understanding it, and allowing it to be changed by your awareness.
Think about the urge, the craving, the pull toward your

(16:40):
old habits. Every time it rises. It's like a spark
full of energy, full of potential. Most people waste that
energy by fighting it, running from it, numbing it, or
shaming themselves for feeling it. But what if you learned
to use that spark instead of trying to extinguish it.

(17:02):
The alchemists believed that every poison can be turned into
medicine if you know the secret. Jung believed your craving,
your addiction, is the very material from which your new
self can be forged, turning poison into power. It starts
with a shift in attitude. Instead of asking how do

(17:24):
I get rid of this feeling? Ask what can I
learn from it, How can I use its energy? Craving
is energy. It's the mind's way of saying something is missing,
something needs to move. When you feel the urge, don't
waste it. Channel it. If you're craving a cigarette, use

(17:48):
that moment as a que to take a deep breath,
to move your body, to write down your thoughts, to
create something, even if it's just a single honest sentence
of what you're feeling. This is the difference between unconscious
repetition and conscious transformation. You can't always stop the urge

(18:09):
from coming, but you can choose what you do with it.
Over time, this practice rewires your relationship with yourself. Young
noticed that people who escaped addiction didn't just quit. They
replaced one ritual with another, one pattern with something more meaningful.

(18:32):
You need new rituals, new ways to use the energy
that used to fuel your cravings. If you always reached
for your habit in times of stress, try pausing and
feeling the ground under your feet instead. If you used
to numb your mind before sleep, try journaling the one
truth you're most afraid of admitting. If you want to

(18:57):
run from discomfort, try moving toward it. For sixty seconds,
naming it, breathing through it, and letting yourself feel it fully.
Small rituals done with awareness are the tools of transformation
from shadow to self. Young believed the purpose of life

(19:17):
is individuation, the process of becoming whole by integrating all
the lost, rejected, or feared parts of yourself. Addiction shows
you where your wounds are, but also where your greatest
energy lives. The shadow isn't your enemy, it's your guide
to your own hidden potential. Every time you pause and

(19:40):
face your craving, you reclaim a little more of your power.
You become less divided, more unified, more yourself, and slowly
your identity changes. You're no longer the addict, the lost cause,
the one who can't change. You become the observer, the chooser,

(20:02):
the alchemist, someone who can hold pain, longing, and even
fear and still move forward with purpose, a new identity.
You might wonder, how do I know if I'm really changing?
The answer isn't dramatic. It's quiet. You notice that the

(20:23):
voice of shame gets softer. You notice you don't need
to hide from yourself as much. You catch yourself pausing, reflecting,
choosing just once and then again. You begin to trust yourself,
and that trust grows one small act at a time.

(20:45):
Most people measure change in big victories or clean streaks,
but real transformation, Young believed, is measured by your willingness
to show up honestly for yourself, day after day, no
matter what the hidden reward. Here's the payoff most never expect.
The journey through addiction is not just about quitting a habit.

(21:09):
It's about discovering a new relationship with yourself. You start
to realize that you're stronger than you thought, wiser than
you believed, and more capable of holding discomfort than you
ever imagined. You stop seeing yourself as broken. You start
seeing yourself as brave. Jung wrote, I am not what

(21:30):
happened to me. I am what I choose to become.
That's your truth now, too. One last challenge. If you've
watched until the end, you've already proven you're not like most.
You're ready to meet your cravings with curiosity, your shadow,

(21:50):
with compassion, your wounds with the willingness to heal. So
here's the final step. Every time the urge returns you
as a bell, a reminder to check in with your
deepest self. Ask what do I truly need right now?

(22:10):
What does your soul hunger for connection? Truth, meaning rest?
Find a small, honest way to give it to yourself.
Every time you do, you weaken the old pattern and
strengthen the new. Addiction wants you to believe you're stuck

(22:35):
for ever. That's the lie. The truth is you are
changing every day, and every small act of awareness is
a victory. You don't have to be perfect, You only
have to keep showing up.
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