Introduction
The shadow self is a psychological term used to describe the part of our personality that remains unconscious. The shadow self is often referred to as “the dark side,” because it can appear as a force of evil or negativity in our lives—but it doesn’t have to be that way! There are ways we can embrace and integrate our shadow selves for greater well-being and personal growth. In this article, we will discuss what the shadow self is, how it relates to healing from trauma, and how you can work with your own inner darkness so that it becomes a source of strength instead of fear or shame.
What Is the Shadow Self?
The shadow self is the part of us that we don’t want to acknowledge. It is a metaphor for our unconscious, but it also represents our ego and everything we hide from others.
The shadow self is not necessarily evil or bad; it’s just different than who we think we are on the surface. If you’ve ever felt ashamed about something in your life, that feeling probably comes from your shadow side (and maybe even some other parts of yourself).
How to Embrace Your Inner Darkness
This is the point where you begin to understand that the shadow self is a part of you. You may also be able to see that it’s not evil and does not need to be destroyed. The next step is accepting that this part of your personality exists, and then learning how to manage it so that it doesn’t overwhelm your life or cause harm to others (or even yourself).
The final stage of embracing your inner darkness involves understanding that this aspect of humanity isn’t something new–it has been around since we first began walking upright on two legs. There are many examples throughout history where people have accepted their own darkness, even if they didn’t call it such or put it into words .For example some Native American tribes believe all creatures have an animal counterpart inside them; in ancient Greece, there were deities for every emotion; during medieval times witches were believed by some Christians as having magical powers due to their ability to cast spells using herbs from nature
The Shadow Self as a Symbol of Healing
The Shadow Self is a symbol of healing, the unconscious and hidden, unknown, darkness and evil. It represents the shadow side of human nature that we all have but usually hides from view.
The concept of the Shadow Self was first introduced by Carl Jung in his book Man and His Symbols (1964). This idea has since been explored by many other psychologists and philosophers including Robert Bly who wrote A Little Book on the Human Shadow (1989), James Hillman who wrote Anima: An Anatomy of a Personification (1989) .
The shadow self stands in contrast to our conscious self but can be a useful source of strength if we embrace it.
The shadow self is the part of us that we don’t want to acknowledge. It’s made up of all those things we’ve been taught to repress, ignore and not think about.
It’s the part of you that feels wrong or shameful: your anger, rage and sense of injustice; your sexuality; irrational fears; greediness and selfishness (or lack thereof); jealousy–the list goes on! The shadow self stands in contrast to our conscious self but can be a useful source of strength if we embrace it.
Conclusion
The shadow self is an important part of our psyche and can be a source of strength if we embrace it. It’s important to acknowledge that we all have darkness inside us, but by acknowledging it and working through our feelings we can heal ourselves and become stronger people.
