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Are you Afraid of Your Dark Side?
Thoughts on Coping with the Shadow Self
Weekend Challenge #5 from A Taste for Life got me thinking about things that go bump in the night and hide in the shadow self.
The idea of a shadow self comes from psychologist Carl Jung to reference the dark side of the human psyche. Think of your shadow as the collection of negative thoughts, trauma, insecurities and evil intentions you often hide from others.
Our shadow selves hold some of the scariest parts of our identity. Through shadow work, people can uncover feelings and experiences that have been rejected or repressed.
I may not know everything that lurks in my own shadow, but I’ve done work to be aware of some of it. Like most, I spent years rejecting the dark side as too painful or messed up to accept. That denial created a chronic sense that part of me was not worthy of being seen or understood.
Somewhere along my journey, rejecting the shadow became an exhausting exercise in self-hate. I couldn’t do it anymore, even if I wanted to. I had no choice but to dig in and embrace my darkness for all that it was.
I learned two lessons that I carry with me.
First, acceptance is not indulgence. I can accept the dark thoughts and feelings without giving in to them. A…
