Up: [[Compulsion]] Related: [[Enantiodromia]] Created: 2026-03-18 Updated: 2026-03-19 Compulsions are attempts to take care of ourselves. We use them to bury unacceptable feelings and fears so we can survive. The compulsions also provide comfort. A couple of problems happen with compulsions as they continue. One is that we can’t just bury unacceptable feelings, all feelings get buried. That means that joy gets cut off as well as pain, and it becomes just as scary to uncover the joy as it is anything else. Compulsions hang around because they are calls to awaken. They highlight old beliefs we’ve taken on that keep us separated from ourselves. That’s why when one compulsion is wrestled to the ground through control, another simply takes its place. That’s what happened to me. When management of my weight was working, it was because I’d switched to another compulsion — [[All-or-Nothing]]. I sustained the all of dieting for as long as I could, then an [[Enantiodromia]] inevitably happened and the pendulum swung to nothing. What I failed to understand is the old line, *What I try to control, controls me.* It was hubris to think that I was powerful enough to control my complexes when they activated. Mary O’Malley says, *The more my soul longs for me to become fully myself, the stronger will be its push to awaken me.* I obviously need to be grateful that I’ve regained weight. My compulsion did not allow for a temporary fix through dieting. I’m going for **lasting healing**!