Passion as Protection Against Addiction

Passion, in the clinical context used by Philippe Jacquet, refers to genuine engagement with life — a sense of meaning, purpose, or calling that gives the person something to move toward rather than only something to run from.

What addiction fills

Addiction does not arrive in a full life. It arrives in a life that is missing something. The substance fills that vacancy — it provides intensity, anticipation, relief — a counterfeit version of being fully alive.

“Where there is passion, there is less addiction.” — Philippe Jacquet

Passion is not a cure — but it changes the terrain

Sobriety without meaning is an empty room. The person has nothing to move toward. The vacancy the addiction colonised remains vacant. Relapse in these conditions becomes almost inevitable — not from weakness but from the absence of a reason compelling enough to sustain the difficulty of staying clean.

Recovery as rediscovery

Part of the therapeutic work in addiction recovery is excavation: finding what the person cared about before the substance took over. Passion is not the reward that comes after recovery. It is part of recovery itself.

Book a consultation with Philippe Jacquet — psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, London.