This was a tough pill for me to swallow, but that’s for me to unpack during my own shadow work.
You finally realise that the people who raised you are also human and also have their own shadow selves. Thinking about our upbringing, environment growing up, trauma, and parents’ impact on our entire being because of their own toxic traits is also an immensely humbling experience. (This is why I put together a Shadow Work for Beginners workbook to make the process a little less overwhelming.) After all, this is why we’ve suppressed and hidden this shadow self for so long. You have to be vulnerable and super-honest with yourself, and that doesn’t always feel good. With this in mind, shadow work can be really, really uncomfortable – TRUST me. Our shadow self usually begins to develop in childhood when we’re especially susceptible to soaking up the attitudes and energies of our environment, as well as experience trauma that we’re not yet equipped to deal with. Shadow work is basically a deep-dive – usually through meditation and journaling – into what makes us tick and why. Obsessed with appearance/how other people see them/dependent on praise.Shadow traits that your shadow side might possess include: We tend to see shadow traits in other people pretty easily, but when it comes to our own shadow self, it takes a little introspection. ‘Modern’ shadow work refers to discovering these shadow traits, forgiving ourselves for them, healing from past trauma that may have caused them, and processing them in order to grow.
Some of us as children are just taught that we should be quiet, timid, and rational, and therefore view these as traits that we should bury. While the traits that make up our Shadow as usually perceived to be negative – as our ego has hidden them for a reason – they can also be positive, as having low self-esteem or anxiety can cause us to unnecessarily reject certain aspects of ourselves that we’ve been taught are bad.įor example being extroverted, impulsive, and fantasising can also be part of the Shadow, but aren’t necessarily negative traits. The Superego is the moral conscious, while the Ego acts as the go-between.įreud’s Id and Jung’s Shadow contrast in certain aspects because Jung believed that not all Shadow traits were inherently negative and could even result in creativity, while Freud believed that the Id was primitive and purely driven by instinct.Īccording to Jung, our Shadow is the side of us that the ego doesn’t identify with the ‘darker’ side of our personality.
The Id according to Freud, was the primitive part of the psyche responsible for sexual and aggressive drives, as well as hidden memories. In 1923, Freud theorised that the human psyche is comprised of three parts: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
Jung’s Shadow archetype is often likened to Sigmund Freud’s theory on the Id. These archetypes are defined as universal, primal symbols and images that derive from the collective unconscious. The Shadow is one of main archetypes that Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, focused on the most, along with the Self, the Persona, and the Anima/Animus. Your shadow self is the side of you that you tend to hide from others and keep out of sight, hence the name. The term ‘shadow work’ refers to the practice of working through and learning to forgive your shadow self. Knowing where to start can be tricky though – I totally get that, which is why using journal prompts to get started can be really helpful. Shadow work has totally changed my mindset and improved my mental health. Shadow work journal prompts are an amazing way for beginners to improve self-awareness and work through past traumas, events, and emotions, as well to get to know themselves as human beings much better.ĭiscovering and exploring your shadow self so that you can learn self-acceptance, boundaries, and healthy coping mechanisms is a form of self-care in itself and, to be completely honest, it’s been completely life-changing for me.
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