Shadow Work: Why You Need to Face Your Inner Demons

The Thing You Don't Want to Be

"Everyone carries a shadow," Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." The Shadow is the dump for everything we deny in ourselves: rage, greed, jealousy, but also creativity and power.

How the Shadow Forms

As children, we learn that some behaviors get us love (sharing, smiling) and others get us scolded (yelling, being selfish). We repress the "bad" traits. But they don't disappear; they go underground.

Spotting Your Shadow

You can't see your shadow directly, but you can see it projected. When you have an irrational, intense dislike for someone, it's often because they are displaying a trait you have repressed in yourself. This is "projection."

The Gold in the Shadow

Shadow work isn't just about fixing bad habits. It's about reclaiming lost energy. A "nice guy" might repress his aggression, but integrated aggression becomes assertiveness and leadership. A "perfect mother" might repress her selfishness, but integrated selfishness becomes self-care.

How to Start

1. Notice your triggers. What makes you disproportionately angry?
2. Journal. Write a dialogue with the part of you you hate. Ask it what it wants.
3. Dream Analysis. The Shadow often appears in dreams as a dark figure, a pursuer, or a monster. Instead of running, try to turn and face it. Ask: "Who are you?"