Getting Out of the Coffin
Nobody chooses a coffin for its own sake. The restriction, the substance, the withdrawal — these were genuine solutions to genuinely unbearable situations. The coffin worked. Understanding that it worked — that it served a real purpose at a real moment — is the beginning of being able to leave it without shame.
The coffin is a clinical metaphor for the protective enclosure a person builds when life becomes overwhelming — the eating disorder, the addiction, the isolation, the rigid persona. It was built for survival. But protection and living are not the same thing.
Why the coffin was built
Nobody chooses a coffin for its own sake. The restriction, the substance, the withdrawal — these were genuine solutions to genuinely unbearable situations. The coffin worked. Understanding that it worked — that it served a real purpose at a real moment — is the beginning of being able to leave it without shame.
The invitation — not a demand
“It is time to get out of the coffin. And engage with life.” — Philippe Jacquet
This is offered not as a provocation but as an invitation. Gently. Without shaming the person for having been inside. The question is simply whether the coffin, which once protected, has become its own kind of dying.
“You will not suffer less. You will suffer better. And the person you meet when you step out — make sure it is not a stranger.” — Philippe Jacquet
Book a consultation with Philippe Jacquet — psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, London.