(Mick Quinn) A series on the shadow - substitution

Here is a real-life example of the shadow: April was newly married, had a stable job, and lived close to her parents and her only sister. As with most of her friends at that time, April was a light drinker and enjoyed an occasional joint. But, she also suffered from anxiety, stress, and sometimes a debilitating depression would settle upon her.

When this occurred, April was often curt with her friends, and would become openly frustrated, sometimes with the simplest of things. To ease the pain, April liked to eat. As a result, she gained quite a bit of weight.In time, tired of being overweight and apprehensive, April went to see an acupuncturist based on the recommendation of her mother. The series of treatments were not without physical discomfort, but April endured them and then, as if magically, she lost lots of weight. Though the emotional and psychological symptoms eased for a time, they did not disappear completely.

With her eating habits now changed, the weight stayed off but April, still a light drinker, found herself being drawn to using more drugs, to the point where she was selling small quantities of cocaine to support her habit.