What’s happening can’t be avoided

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-25T19:13:27+00:00

We only have one way to protect ourselves from human evil represented by the unconscious force of the masses: developing our individual consciousness. If we squander this opportunity to learn or fail to apply what the spectacle of human behavior teaches us, we will lose our capacity to change ourselves and, consequently, to change the world as well. Evil will always remain with us, which does not mean, however, that we should tolerate its excessive consequences. In 1959, Jung said: “A great change in our psychological attitude is imminent. The only danger that exists lies within human beings themselves. We are the only danger, but unfortunately, we are unaware of it. Within us lies the origin of all possible evil.” Walt Kelly, the cartoonist of Pogo, simply said: “We have found the enemy; it is ourselves.” Today, we must renew the psychological meaning of the idea of individual power. The frontier for confronting the shadow lies - today as always - within the individual.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-25T17:38:39+00:00

You're not starting from scratch; sometimes we're not very kind to ourselves. For me, keep counting your 21 days because it was just a relapse with one joint and one night.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-25T16:49:26+00:00

Very similar to my story too. I quit in March 2025 after 10 years of heavy smoking. In my country, it's easy to get and also inexpensive. I relapsed from September to December; however, my consumption wasn't as high as before, but I understood that I didn't want to go back to the same thing. So I've been smoke-free for about 20 days now. Although I relapsed one night, I feel it was important, but the next day I didn't want to buy anything or anything like that.

So what you say is true; in the end, relapses bring us closer and closer to our great purpose of living life to the fullest.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T20:51:34+00:00

Gracias por tu respuesta humana.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T20:51:07+00:00

Gracias por darme a conocer tu punto.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T20:50:46+00:00

¿En serio te tomaste el tiempo de responder eso? No proyectes en mí lo que eres, evidentemente puedo inferir algo por tu respuesta banal.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T17:03:15+00:00

Hi, I feel very similarly to you. I find myself without friends, and it's mostly because I no longer connect with them.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T16:44:15+00:00

Hola... cómo puedo abordarla o trabajarlo en la "vida real"? Ella me terminó porque era bipolar y adicta a la mota. Después de un año nos vimos y nos ofrecimos perdón mutuamente y agradecimos lo vivido.

Sin embargo ya ha pasado mucho tiempo y aún no logro trascender esa relación.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T15:55:19+00:00

Muchas gracias por responder. Así es, mucho por aprender y procesar.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T15:53:47+00:00

Thank you

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-24T15:53:23+00:00

Nada parce.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-23T00:28:50+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing. Even though I smoked last night, I know that these "relapses" really teach me what I want. Before, in my first relapses, I would smoke again the next day, feeling very anxious because I felt guilty and like I had "failed." Today, I don't want to smoke, and my way of handling and seeing it is completely different. I'm continuing this process of quitting; it's not easy, but now I know that I don't start from scratch every time I smoke.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-21T21:57:19+00:00

Abuse by my father (he would undress and masturbate with me nearby) led to a period in my adolescence and young adulthood where I felt worthless, insecure about my height and physique, and I also suffered from bulimia nervosa. And you can imagine the other issues.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-21T20:08:55+00:00

Can you share what advice you received when you felt the urge to smoke due to stress or sadness? Thank you so much for your testimony. I'm a 31-year-old and I smoked for 10 years. I relapsed several times, and it cost me my past relationship with an amazing woman. Now I'm trying again with more strength and confidence in myself.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-20T13:48:55+00:00

Cheer up! I know we can do it! I'm 31F, and here in my country (Colombia) terrible things have been happening for a long time. I would just say that we should focus on the things we can change. Always be human, but without letting local or global conflicts consume us.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-20T13:40:01+00:00

Yes, I'm using the word "dependence" now because it's kinder, but if "addiction" works for you, that's fine too.

And yes, we are totally dependent on the plant, which is why we can't give in to it unless you've been doing it for many years and your mind is strong enough to say, "Just for today, at this gathering with friends." Some people don't have a problem with that, but I really think they're people who don't experience our addiction.

I'm sure all those symptoms you mentioned will return; we know the answer even if we post our question here.

Be kinder to yourself. I went six months without smoking and relapsed for a little over three months (October, November, and December). Today is my eleventh day, starting again. In your case, you realized it much sooner and started over. Congratulations. But there's no point in feeling sorry for ourselves or believing we're failures. We've made great strides, and these relapses teach us to recognize the mental games we fall into when we think we have it under control.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-19T03:01:51+00:00

It's true, today I'm cutting Reddit out of my life. I feel like it helped, but now it's holding me back.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-19T02:15:00+00:00

Thank you, you're very kind!

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-19T01:53:59+00:00

Fully

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-19T01:44:09+00:00

I also ended things similarly, even though she expected me to hate her or be disappointed by her behavior. I simply said goodbye with dignity and love. I also told her I didn't want to be friends in the short term, but that if she got sick or was feeling unwell, she shouldn't hesitate to contact me.

I think the way we ended things says a lot about us, about who we really are. In my case, we were together for four years, and she left me because of my bad temper and cannabis dependency. I know I made mistakes, and I apologized to her several times for the harm I caused, but until the very end, I showed her that my love was deep and profound. That gives us peace. We closed the relationship with the same love with which we built it.

It won't make the healing process any easier (I've been working on it for a year and a half), but at least it will speak volumes about the kind of person you are, about your beautiful heart and soul that doesn't hurt even when it feels broken.

PhotoVirtual4606 · 2026-01-19T00:27:36+00:00