Damián Ruiz
Addictions, when they have been installed as habits in people for a long time, end up creating a series of neural circuits and emotional connections, normally as a form of escape from reality, which lead them to become what we could call, in Carl G. Jung’s terms, an ‘autonomous complex’.
This means that they are activated without necessarily going hand in hand with the will. That is to say, when one already falls into the category of ‘addict’, the will to activate the compulsion, for example, snorting cocaine or gambling in a casino, is not necessary. The person acts as if driven by an automatism that impels him or her to repeat the habit.
Therefore, if willpower is not the activating factor, neither is it the main factor to be taken into account in order to be able to quit an addiction.
So, what is it that allows the addict to start to give up his or her habit of consumption?
Consciousness.
Without an awakening of consciousness, in fact an elevation of consciousness, the possibilities are considerably reduced. Why? Because for addicts, acts of will, especially in the early stages of therapy, are also a stimulating factor. The addictive personality itself finds motivation when starting any kind of therapy, but the problem arises when what I have called the ‘autonomous complex’ arises again and somehow transfers this idea to the patient ‘all right, I have left you for a while to be motivated by the possibility of leaving me, but now it is over, go back to giving me some of mine’.
And, most probably, the person concerned will give you some of his or her own again.
Why?
Because they have not made any significant changes in their life that would support the change of habits.
It is naïve to believe that by continuing with the same kind of life it is possible to make such a significant life revolution as giving up an addiction.
That is why the problem with any kind of therapy for addicts is the enthusiasm of the patient in the first weeks or months that makes him/her believe that, without changing anything, he/she will be able to quit the harmful habit. This is never true.
In order to quit a habit, it is essential to transform some important aspects of one’s own life. If this is not done, overcoming the addiction is much more difficult.
Therefore, any addict, before starting any kind of therapy, has to ask himself this question: ‘Am I willing to modify my lifestyle, to overcome old habits that are linked to addiction, to channel my emotions in a different way, to face my reality with more maturity?’
If so, the chances of overcoming addiction increase considerably, otherwise it may all remain a transitory mirage.