Heeding The Voice of Authenticity, XII

Compulsions & Addictions

Welcome back to this 12-part series of Journal Prompts to help you hear your Authentic Inner Voice and find your Calling and Purpose. If you have missed the introduction in Part I, you can find and read it here.

12.Which Compulsions Or Addictions Are You Hiding Behind?

Compulsions, obsessions, addictions and any kind of looping patterns and behaviors take the life-force and presence out of each moment. They also cover up our greatest treasures, joys and gifts, well hidden behind our fears, shadows and blind spots though they often are…

How are compulsions and addictions showing up in your life? And - which authentic parts of you are they trying to hide, what are you trying to avoid?

The answers to these questions may likely surprise you…and make it well worth diving into this uncomfortable and obscure area for illumination.

If you are crinkling your brows at me right now, saying, ‘wait just a minute here - I don’t have any addictions!’, read on and explore the more subtle ways addictions and compulsions can and do creep into our lives.

It’s not only substances and extreme behaviors that can drug and compel us; anything that consistently distracts us from being present with ourselves and our uncomfortable thoughts and feelings can become an addiction or a compulsion. When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with reading books…laudable though it may have seemed, it was a way for me to escape and leave this world and all my problems and insecurities behind. Avoidance mechanism extraordinaire.

These days, social media trumps in its addictive, life-sucking nature.

Anything that numbs us and helps us avoid looking within, where the scary monsters of the subconscious abide, can become a drug for us. Over-eating or exercising, over-working, compulsive flirting or socializing, being busy all the time, love-obsessions, constantly listening to YouTube or Podcasts instead of enjoying contemplative silence or being fully present with what we are doing and ‘being’…you get the idea. Any of these activities in moderation can serve to nurture us, or numb us when they become unconscious and start sabotaging our lives from the inside out.

Behind the repressed shadows and feelings we are trying so hard to avoid facing, however, lie our true authentic desires, gifts and passions. By avoiding the discomfort, all the aspects of ourselves we do not like to acknowledge, we are also avoiding our light, our greatest gifts and our true face and voice. And - if we are seeking true fulfillment, inner peace and the joy of living your most authentic life and purpose - this is a problem we need to face…

By becoming aware of the ways you are trying to numb out and hide, you are one step closer to taking back the power to create your life in much more present and fulfilling ways, starting with healing the inner wounds we keep trying to run from…

Journal Prompts:

make a list of anything you use to distract yourself, numb your feelings etc. (e.g. workaholism, social media, emotional eating, over-exercising, daily wine to chill after work….)
what do you think these habits are helping you to avoid? (e.g. certain emotions, emptiness, unworthiness, loneliness, making time to write the novel you keep procrastinating on, true intimacy and vulnerability…)
looking at the list of things your habits are helping you avoid - can you identify things that are of true value to you, that may even be the things you desire most in life? (E.g. deep intimacy, creative expression, connection, health & fitness…)
what healthy habits can you adopt to replace the old avoidance mechanisms with?
what are you willing to commit to in order to nurture and strengthen the things you discovered are most important to you? (e.g. getting up earlier to have time for a writing or exercising routine, getting help with healing the ‘wounds’ that keep you from deeply connecting intimately, minimizing social media time….)

Thank you for joining me in this exploratory journal series - I hope you are walking away with new and fresh ideas and perspectives, and a deeper and more loving connection to your unique Authentic Self.

Keep exploring - of all the paths we can take in our lifetime, this is a journey most worthy of undertaking!