Addictions, low self-esteem, mental illness, chronic illnesses, and various neuroses are all attributed to the Shadow Self. Our facial reactions express emotions we don’t consciously feel. It acts as the root cause of our behaviors we wouldn’t voluntarily do and later regret (if we catch it). When the human Shadow is shunned, it tends to undermine and sabotage our lives. These unexamined or disowned parts of our personalities hide in our subconscious, where they still influence us and express themselves, for example, through feelings of anger or jealousy. So what happens to all the parts of ourselves we sweep out of view? Many of us go to great lengths to protect our self-image from anything unflattering or unfamiliar. Reading Carl Jung triggered my spiritual awakening so definitely proceed with caution. His work is mind-bending and transformative, but definitely not easy (or fun) to read. These books encapsulate Jung’s theories on the collective unconscious & the categorization of personalities into 8 different archetypes. If this is something you’d like to learn more about, make sure to read The Undiscovered Self, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious, & The Red Book. To keep this article short and sweet, I’m not going to dive that deep into Jung’s work. Of course, there is more to Carl Jung’s theories on the shadow side. All we deny in ourselves-whatever we perceive as inferior, evil, or unacceptable-become part of the shadow. This hidden place lurking within your unconscious mind contains all of your secrets, repressed feelings, and parts deemed “unacceptable,” shameful, “sinful” or even “evil” by society. The shadow is the “dark side” of our personality because it consists chiefly of primitive, negative human emotions and impulses like rage, envy, greed, selfishness, jealousy, and the striving for power. The Shadow Self theory was originally coined and explored by Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung. The following shadow work journal prompts will help you bring this shadow self to the surface so you can create a pathway to healing, self-awareness, self-acceptance, and compassion. Shadow work is an exercise in exploring one’s hidden “shadow.” Our shadow selves may appear briefly from time to time, but other times they may take complete control and completely upend our lives. We all have a secret shadow side that is impulsive, jealous, angry, deceitful, and lonely that we work to bury beneath the social mask we present to the world every day.
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