Hero vs. Wounded Healer archetype in reboot and addiction

I think it is interesting to look at how we see this journey, a lot of how guys may understandably frame it is the hero - you conquer, you become the example held in high esteem - but this isn't the only way to see it.

I encourage people who are not familiar to look it up, but the wounded healer is basically what it sounds like - someone who contributes to others healing even as s/he him/herself are still in need of healing. If we think about it that has a certain poignancy to it and is noble in a way, rather than focusing on ones own healing there's the motivation to help others.

That's all I got for now, I don't know if anyone else out there is interested in this kind of stuff but just an initial pointing out and maybe people who are interested have noticed other archetypal patterns that fit?

 

Thanks for replying. I think it's an interesting thing to talk about, and in general perhaps guys are more prone to approaching it as a hero and women, whether dealing with this specific issue or not are perhaps more likely to have a wounded healer thing going on. But of course we can't really heal others if we're not in a healthy place ourselves. And frankly we need to recognize the huge point that a lot of people do not even believe full recovery is possible, and religiously so.

It is good to recognize there's this story we lay on top of it, and the last point in the first paragraph is perhaps a big one about recovery in general. To me it's a matter of seeing through it to go beyond it so we are not limited by these views, I would think it can only free us up to have better recovery in the long run.

 

Yes there is that common element, and of course people don't just have one even if they identify with one more than others. From Wikipedia:

Wounded healer is a term created by psychologist Carl Jung. The idea states that an analyst is compelled to treat patients because the analyst himself is "wounded". The idea may have Greek mythology origins. Research has shown that 73.9% of counselors and psychotherapists have experienced one or more wounding experiences leading to their career choice.​

I don't think a person has to be a mental health professional, the key is ones own wounds compel them to be a healer or take on that role in whatever relational context. A couple other points:

Jung’s closest colleague, Marie Louise Von Franz, said “the wounded healer IS the archetype of the Self [our wholeness, the God within] and is at the bottom of all genuine healing procedures.”[citation needed]


Jungians warn of the dangers of inflation and splitting in the helping professions, involving projection of the 'wounded' pole of the archetype onto the patient alone, with the analyst safely separated off as 'healer'.[12]
​

So that first quote is obviously more positive (BTW non-religious people of various types - I would not let the word God trip you up in this context, especially with the word "within" and the fact that it is qualified as an archetype) and I think the point is it is a matter of compassion. Contrasted with the second statement, the Self mentioned has an all inclusive sense, whereas the part warning of the dangers is clearly making a division - one person is the wounded/messed up person, and the helper being the noble one - but in reality they may have their own wounds even if it is of a different kind and of course it describes a rather one sided perspective.

So to me the first is potentially a more essential and non-personal take in a universal identification, (kind of like we're all one, we're all suffering) whereas the second with the sharp distinction kind of puts the one identified as wounded in a box and at a disadvantage in the first place, because it affirms that. BTW this is basically why in Refuge Recovery they say in introducing yourself you don't have to identify with anything other than your name, because to call yourself an alcoholic or whatever has the possibility of reifying that identity rather than go beyond it - which would be the point of the universally inclusive identity of the Self.