You know the object of your addiction is bad for you. So why can’t you stop? Dr. Connie Zweig has spent decades working with people who feel stuck in exactly that gap between knowing and changing.
Zweig is a retired Jungian therapist and the author of the newly republished Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow — the books that helped launch the shadow-work movement, and the reason a new generation is now discovering it on TikTok.
In this clip, she walks Tami through her method step by step, using the story of a client who couldn’t stop eating ice cream every night while waiting for an unavailable boyfriend to call. Awareness alone, Zweig explains, is never enough. You have to name the shadow character, trace it back to where it was first modeled, and uncover the valid need hiding underneath it.
What you’ll take away from this clip:
- Why awareness of a compulsive pattern rarely changes it on its own
- How to identify a “shadow character” through its recurring thoughts, feelings, and body sensations
- Why every addictive or compulsive behavior is protecting a valid, hidden need
- Zweig’s own story of discovering her “judge” shadow character — inherited from her father
This clip is taken from the full Insights at the Edge conversation with Connie Zweig: “Meeting One of the World’s Leading Experts on the Shadow.”
This episode is sponsored by Omega Institute, a global gathering hub for lifelong learning and spiritual exploration. Omega offers weekend workshops, special events, rest and rejuvenation retreats, professional training, online learning, and more. Discover what calls to you at eomega.org/true.
