Inggris: Knowing the Shadow Self Within

Self Within

Oleh: Alifa Salsabilla | Desainer: Zakiyah | Ilustrator: Safiatun Naja

In living our daily lives, we often get demands from the surrounding environment. We strive to play a role and wear masks so that no one else knows who we really are. At the time of doing this, maybe we do not intend to fake ourselves, but because of the desire to be accepted by the public. The famous psychologist Carl Jung referred to this phenomenon as shadow self. It means the qualities that are hidden in man and are in darkness.

Thoughts about Shadow Self Shadow self is the reality that Carl Jung used to explain the thoughts and feelings that are suppressed in a person. Carl jung devoted his thoughts to this “Shadow Self” problem by creating the Archetype model. Two of these Archetypes are Persona and Shadow Self.

According to Carl Jung’s theory known as Jungian Archetypes, the face we show in public is called a persona and everyone has a different persona.

Like, when we use “persona”, then we are playing the role of being a different self. The role we play serves as a protector of the ego from negative images. This can be known as shadow self. As the name implies, shadow self can be likened to a shadow that always follows us without us knowing. Shadow self presents traits or attitudes in us that are not appropriate to be shown to others in the form of unwelcome self-weakness, past trauma, negative emotions, selfishness and other negative things. Impact of Shadow Self Shadow self should not be hidden because it can cause addiction, low self-esteem, mental illness, and various psychiatric disorders. In addition, shadow self can also provide anxiety in a person because of human nature that always wants to be recognized and accepted in his environment. It causes us to use the persona and hide the shadow self. There are times when personas are useful as a marker that we have the ability to adapt to the surrounding environment. However, personas can backfire on themselves, causing a loss of true self. True self is a combination of persona, ego, shadow self, and animus. Persona and ego represent the consciousness side, while the shadow self and animus represent the unconsciousness side of an individual. Consciousness is the level of thinking in a conscious state where we can talk about and we think rationally, such as determining the purpose of life, thinking about the future, and the like. While unconsciousness is thought that is under the conscious and related to the brain, memories such as memories, feelings, and memories that have been experienced. When we attach importance to things consciousness, then we will experience a psychological imbalance.

How to Handle Shadow Self

Shadow self can be overcome by doing shadow work. Shadow work is one way that can be used to free negative energy by managing and trying to make peace with the shadow self. In this case, we can still acknowledge the dark side that is inside us and make it a positive thing. By managing the dark side, we can pay attention to the emotions we feel and improve our physical, mental, and emotional health. This can be achieved because the dark side of self provides greater inner strength and balance so that every human being can face life’s challenges. In addition, healthy individuals are those who can interact with consciousness and unconsciousness so that they can form a true self. True self can be formed if we are able to make self-love, which is to accept ourselves fully, including accepting the dark side that is within. By accepting every shortcoming, it allows us to become someone who gives no judgment to ourselves and helps us to grow into a better version of ourselves. As Jung says in Psychology and Alchemy, “There is no light without shadows and no wholeness of the soul without imperfection”.