The Shadow
A brief dive into Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s understanding of the subconscious aspects of the self.
What is the shadow
We each have a subconscious with many qualities often referred to as “The Shadow”. These are parts of our identity that we repress, including some qualities that we may even be completely unaware of altogether. The qualities are usually something we hide from perceiving them as “weak, socially unacceptable, bad etc.”.
“The thing a person has no wish to be” – Carl Jung
Is the shadow harmful?
The issue is that just because we are unaware of these qualities does not mean they are not active, more often than not we each display in our actions, emotions and conclusions, many qualities of our “Shadows”. It can manifest in harmful ways in the form of negative social interactions, fears, insecurities, resentments, self-limitation etc.
Some negative traits or outbursts we never put thought or reasoning behind usually come from a deep self-identity or conclusion within our subconscious. Due to ourselves being unaware of our shadow, it is much more likely to be at play as we are not even aware when it is active.
How should we deal with the shadow?
Dealing with the shadow is not about getting rid of it or repressing it but instead accepting, integrating and becoming aware of it.
“The shadow becomes hostile only when it is ignored or misunderstood” – Marie-Louise von Franz
Carl Jung believes that developing awareness of the shadow and its projections within an individual’s life is critical. This is by no means an easy thing to do and often takes hard work and time.
There are many ways of doing this most notably being, Psychotherapy, Introspective Journaling, Dream interpretation, Meditation etc. Through these you can start to understand the parts of yourself hidden away by observing actions, emotions and thought processes in daily life with total honesty recognising where they come from.
Acceptance is an important aspect as you are not aiming for perfection but wholeness of personality and awareness. You cannot deny or repress feelings but instead, the awareness and acceptance of them will allow you to recognise them in life so that they are not acting as a destructive surprise to you. You are also then able to deal with them in a more healthy way.
“There is no light without shadow and no psychic wholeness without imperfection” – C.J
While the shadow is generally considered negative, once awareness is brought towards it, it can display good qualities such as creativity, understanding, control of instincts, realistic insights, stability etc. It contains within it potential and source for development if recognised and aware of.
Many parts of your shadow you will outgrow once aware of and process them changing conclusions and identities often to more healthy identities and conclusions.
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has the chance to correct it. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it is unable to be corrected and is liable to burst forth suddenly in a moment of unawareness. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions” – Carl Jung (C.W Vol. 11 Psychology and Religion: West and East)