Up: [[Compulsion]] Created: 2025-10-03 Updated: 2025-10-12 Course: Compulsion as the Great Mystery of Life with Margaret Klenck for Washington Jung The spark isn’t the problem. [[Compulsions Have a Psychological Purpose]]. Don’t ever give up on the spark. Give up on the behaviour you use to stay attached to the spark. An example: - A person feels more lovable and connected to others when they drink. The spark is being more lovable and connected. This is a simple examples and not yours (or mine). Nobody’s spark is the same as somebody else’s. Finding the roots and particularities of your compulsion is work that can take years because it is unique to you and your particular [[Complex]]es. And if the compulsion or addiction is trying to solve a core complex, count on it taking a lot of time to solve. An example: - A person gets so obsessed with work that family and health suffer. The compulsion is for the promotion, or the money or the accolades or… What is the spark? Once you know what the spark is, you look for other ways to achieve it. The child who wanted to be the next Gretzky (see [[When a Spark isn't Satisfied]]) can be helped to get to good enough by a parent savvy enough to recognize that the child’s desire is to be part of a team, or that the child’s need is to have an outlet for aggression. When you know the nature of the spark, you can figure out how to get more of it, how to achieve the spark by proxy. A few suggestions from Margaret Klenck: - Compulsions are related. Make a Venn diagram. How are yours related? - It takes a lot of courage to really grieve. Trust it as the archetypal process that it is and that will carry you through. No one can accompany you into grief, but knowing someone will be there when you come out helps. - Journaling and art therapy are two great processes for imagining other ways to stay attached to the spark. - [[Active Imagination]] is useful for dialoguing with a part of you that doesn’t want to let go of the compulsive or addictive behaviour.