Mathew Perry's tragic death at age 54, which is still under investigation, will have struck a chord with fans of his show, and also all those who have had encounters with addiction. He was found dead in his hot tub and whether or not he died from natural causes, his body was terribly affected by his encounters with addiction. I have visited many men and women in prison, who have been addicted to illicit drugs. Their orange case files, which seemed to weigh kilos, are a symbol of prison of addiction. Illicit drugs, and illicit activity to fund the drugs results in short term prison sentences, often for decades. But there appears to be no escape from this numbing psychic and literal prison. It is a circular route. The only exit appears to be death. On the margins the drugs of choice are heroin and crack cocaine. But alcoholism is wide spread in polite society. Drugs affect our psychic functioning. They heal inner splits. The make us whole. Jung argued that they are so powerful that only an overwhelming experience of the divine, or ego collapse at depth, could help overcome such addictions.

He wrote in his letters that SPIRIT was required to overcome SPIRIT (alcohol). He did not publicise his views for fear of being misunderstood, but historians now credit him for being one of the forces behind the creation of the 12 step movement. Rather than being obsessed in seeking wholeness through drugs and alcohol, or other processes, the twelve steps allows one to experience the sense of wholeness through contact with others, and through spiritual development.

Psychotherapy is a relatively weak medicine in my experience. It can certainly have transformative effects, but it usually falls short when faced with the tsunami of addiction. Both the therapist and the patient will be swept away. The obsession to achieve wholeness, through drugs, is extremely powerful. If life is a quest, then addiction is a dead end. Nowadays, young people have little in the way of initiation. Consumerism doesn't offer them a real initiation, so it is often drugs that play that role. In London today, middle class teenagers will talk about taking ketamine, cross-fading. They will drink vodka neat. Surely, they are seeking some form of initiation. When the addictive part of the mind takes over, the other sections cannot function. The analyst David Schoen argues that it is a Tsunami, not a hot tub. Addiction has a malevolent aspect that is murderous. It can kill the psyche. It is not amenable to logic and reason. Yet, strangely. we might also say that many people who suffer from addictions, are seekers, mystics, who think there is more to the world than meets the eye. Surely, they are right. I am not arguing against intoxication. There is certainly a place for such things. But we need to find a route to wholeness, at least most of the time, that doesn't destroy our psychic structures. This is easier said than done. It requires painstaking work, it requires sacrifice, and it requires a certain humility. None of these are dominant values in an extroverted and materialistic culture. We live in an age of narcissism, where we want straight white teeth, we want credit and merit for our achievements, and we want the world to bow down to our personal truth. We don't care about experts, or partners, we want to live our best life. Of course, there is some merit in this and those who experience oppression should fight back. But there is a precarious element to modern culture. The ego is a vulnerable edifice to build life upon. As Jung said, I am just a clod of earth. There is a relief in keeping our feet on the ground, and striving for wholeness, one step at a time.