OTHERWISE, SELF-WILL ENDS & COMPULSION BEGINS –
“Like self-starvation
with food or compul-
sive debting or hoard-
ing with money, depriva-
tion with sex can make
one feel powerful and
defended against all
hurts.” (Sexual Anor-
exia, p. 1)
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What compulsions have you had to face, lately?
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Can’t Stop – Red Hot Chili Peppers (4:38)
How to Stop Emotional Compulsive Eating (24:21)
An Analysis of: How Self-will Snowballs into a Conflagration of Pain, not Glory
The content provided illustrates how unchecked self-will can evolve into destructive compulsions rather than triumphant independence. The Overeaters Anonymous text acknowledges that self-will alone is insufficient for managing life. At first, this truth is intellectual. Eventually, it sinks into the heart. That shift marks the beginning of real recovery. Carl Jung, in Modern Man in Search of a Soul, describes self-will as an ego-centric force that blinds us from collective wisdom and spiritual insight. The passage aligns with Jung’s belief that unchecked will often leads to suffering rather than empowerment.
When individuals rely on self-will, they often seek control in maladaptive ways. The quote from Sexual Anorexia exemplifies this by likening compulsive behaviors to misguided efforts at self-protection. As Gabor Maté discusses in In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, addiction often originates in trauma. People use compulsive behavior to shield themselves from emotional pain, mistakenly believing they are gaining control. In reality, they are relinquishing freedom.
Auberon Herbert’s quote questions the morality of compulsive acts. True morality requires choice. Compulsion erodes that choice. This echoes Viktor Frankl’s ideas in Man’s Search for Meaning, where he states that between stimulus and response lies our power to choose. When self-will dominates, that space vanishes.
These passages highlight the illusion of strength in self-will. Instead of glory, it often breeds isolation and pain. Freedom and morality require surrender—not to others, but to truth, connection, and humility. Only then can recovery begin.
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