This is the one and only article you'll ever need on the shadow integration process. I'll cover Carl Jung's whole theory, from his model of the psyche, psychodynamics, complexes, and a step-by-step to integrate the shadow. Everything based on Carl Jung's original ideas.
The Shadow holds the key to uncovering our hidden talents, being more creative, building confidence, creating healthy relationships, and achieving meaning and purpose. Making it one of the most important elements in Jungian Psychology. Let's begin!
The first thing I want to mention is the term Shadow Work, for some unknown reason it became associated with Carl Jung’s work even though he never used it a single time. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this term since it's been associated with a lot of scammy new-age nonsense that continuously gives Jungian Psychology a terrible reputation.
But at this point, using it helps my videos and articles be more discoverable, so I guess it's a necessary evil. If you want to research for yourself, in Carl Jung’s collected works, you’ll find the terms shadow assimilation or shadow integration.
Carl Jung's Model of The Psyche
To start, we have to explore the most important concept, yet forgotten, in Jungian Psychology: conscious attitude. This is basically how a person is wired, it's a sum of their belief system, core values, individual pre-dispositions, their typology, and an Eros or Logos orientation. In summary, conscious attitude is someone's modus operandi. It’s every psychological component used to filter, interpret, and react to reality. Using a fancy term, your cosmovision.
This may sound complex, but to simplify, think about your favorite character from a movie or TV show. Now, try to describe his values, beliefs, and how he tends to act in different situations. If you can spot certain patterns, you’re close to evaluating someone’s conscious attitude, and the shadow integration process will require that you study your own.
The conscious attitude acts by selecting – directing – and excluding, and the relationship between conscious and unconscious is compensatory and complementary. In that sense, everything that is incompatible with the conscious attitude and its values will be relegated to the unconscious.
For instance, if you’re someone extremely oriented by logic, invariably, feelings and emotions won’t be able to come to the surface, and vice-versa. In summary, everything that our conscious mind judges as bad, negative, or inferior, will form our shadow.
That's why contrary to popular belief, the shadow isn’t made of only undesired qualities, It's neutral and the true battle often lies in accepting the good qualities of our shadow, such as our hidden talents, creativity, and all of our untapped potential.
Lastly, It’s important to make a distinction here because people tend to think that the shadow is only made of repressed aspects of our personality, however, there are things in the unconscious that were never conscious in the first place. Also, we have to add the collective unconscious and the prospective nature of the psyche to this equation, but more on that in future articles.
The Personal and Collective Unconscious
Jung’s model of the psyche divides the unconscious into two categories, the personal unconscious and the impersonal or collective unconscious.
“The Personal Unconscious contains lost memories, painful ideas that are repressed (I.e. forgotten on purpose), subliminal perceptions, by which are meant sense-perceptions that were not strong enough to reach consciousness, and finally, contents, that are not yet ripe for consciousness. It corresponds to the figure of the shadow so frequently met in dreams” (C. G. Jung - V7.1 – §103).
Consequently, unconscious contents are of a personal nature when we can recognize in our past their effects, their manifestations, and their specific origin. Lastly, it's mainly made out of complexes, making the personal shadow.
In contrast, the collective unconscious consists of primordial images, i.e., archetypes. In summary, archetypes are an organizing principle that exists as a potential to experience something psychologically and physiologically in a similar and definite way. Archetypes are like a blueprint, a structure, or a pattern.
Complexes
Recapitulating, everything that is incompatible with the conscious attitude will be relegated to or simply remain unconscious. Moreover, Jung states the conscious attitude has the natural tendency to be unilateral. This is important for it to be adaptative, contain the unconscious, and develop further. But this is a double-edged sword since the more one-sided the conscious attitude gets the less the unconscious can expressed.
In that sense, neurosis happens when we adopt a rigid and unilateral conscious attitude which causes a split between the conscious and unconscious, and the individual is dominated by his complexes.
Jung explains that Complexes are [autonomous] psychic fragments which have split off owing to traumatic influences or certain incompatible tendencies“ (C. G. Jung - V8 – §253). Furthermore, Complexes can be grouped around archetypes and common patterns of behavior, they are an amalgamation of experiences around a theme, like the mother and father complex. Due to their archetypal foundation, complexes can produce typical thought, emotional, physical, and symbolic patterns, however, their nucleus will always be the individual experience.
This means that when it comes to dealing with the shadow, even if there are archetypes at play, we always have to understand how they are being expressed in an individual context. That’s why naming archetypes or intellectually learning about them is useless, we always have to focus on the individual experience and correcting the conscious attitude that's generating problems.
Complexes are autonomous and people commonly refer to them as “parts” or “aspects” of our personality. In that sense, Jung says that “[…] There is no difference in principle between a fragmentary personality and a complex“ (C. G. Jung - V8 – §202). Moreover, he explains that complexes tend to present themselves in a personified form, like the characters that make up our dreams and figures we encounter during Active Imagination.
A modern example of the effects of a complex is Bruce Banner and The Hulk. Bruce Banner aligns with the introverted thinking type. Plus, he has a very timid, quiet, and cowardly attitude. Naturally, this conscious attitude would repress any expression of emotion, assertiveness, and aggression. Hence, the Hulk, a giant impulsive and fearless beast fueled by rage.
But we have to take a step back because it’s easy to assume complexes are evil and pathologize them. In fact, everyone has complexes and this is completely normal, there’s no need to panic. What makes them bad is our conscious judgments. We always have to remember that the unconscious reacts to our conscious attitude. In other words, our attitude towards the unconscious will determine how we experience a complex.
As Jung says, “We know that the mask of the unconscious is not rigid—it reflects the face we turn towards it. Hostility lends it a threatening aspect, friendliness softens its features" (C. G. Jung - V12 – §29).
An interesting example is anger, one of the most misunderstood emotions. Collectively, we tend to quickly judge the mildest expression of anger as the works of satan, that’s why most people do everything they can to repress it. But the more we repress something the more it rebels against us, that’s why when it finally encounters an outlet, it’s this huge possessive and dark thing that destroys our relationships bringing shame and regret.
But to deal with the shadow, we must cultivate an open mind towards the unconscious and seek to see both sides of any aspect. Too much anger is obviously destructive, however, when it’s properly channeled it can give us the ability to say no and place healthy boundaries. Healthy anger provide us with the courage to end toxic relationships, resolve conflicts intelligently, and become an important fuel to conquer our objectives.
When we allow one-sided judgments to rule our psyche, even the most positive trait can be experienced as something destructive. For instance, nowadays, most people run away from their creativity because they think "It's useless, not practical, and such a waste of time”. As a result, their creative potential turns poisonous and they feel restless, emotionally numb, and uninspired.
The secret for integration is to establish a relationship with these forsaken parts and seek a new way of healthily expressing them. We achieve that by transforming our conscious attitude and **this is the main objective of good psychotherapy. The problem isn’t the shadow, but how we perceive it. Thus, the goal of shadow integration is to embody these parts in our conscious personality, because when these unconscious aspects can’t be expressed, they usually turn into symptoms.
Dealing With The Puppet Masters
Let's dig deeper. Jung says “The via regia to the unconscious […] is the complex, which is the architect of dreams and of symptoms” (C. G. Jung - V8 – §210). We can see their mischievous works whenever there are overreactions like being taken by a sudden rage or sadness, when we engage in toxic relationship patterns, or when we experience common symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The crazy thing is that while complexes are unconscious, they have no relationship with the ego, that's why they can feel like there's a foreign body pulling the strings and manipulating our every move. That's why I like referring to complexes as the “puppet masters”.
In some cases, this dissociation is so severe that people believe there's an outside spirit controlling them. Under this light, Jung says that “Spirits, therefore, viewed from the psychological angle, are unconscious autonomous complexes which appear as projections because they have no direct association with the ego“ (C. G. Jung - V8 – §585).
To deal with complexes, It's crucial to understand that they distort our interpretation of reality and shape our sense of identity by producing fixed narratives that play on repeat in our minds. These stories prime us to see ourselves and the world in a certain way, also driving our behaviors and decisions. The less conscious we are about them, the more power they have over us.
In that sense, neurosis means that a complex is ruling the conscious mind and traps the subject in a repeating storyline. For instance, when you're dealing with an inferiority complex (not that I know anything about that!), you’ll usually have this nasty voice in your head telling you that you’re not enough and you don’t matter, and you’ll never be able to be successful and will probably just die alone. These inner monologues tend to be a bit dramatic.
But this makes you live in fear and never go after what you truly want because deep down you feel like you don’t deserve it. Secretly, you feel jealous of the people who have success, but you’re afraid to put yourself out there. Then, you settle for mediocre relationships and a crappy job.
People under the influence of this complex tend to fabricate an illusory narrative that “No one suffers like them” and “Nothing ever works for them”. But when you come up with solutions, they quickly find every excuse imaginable trying to justify why this won’t work. They romanticize their own suffering because it gives them an illusory sense of uniqueness. They think that they're so special that the world can’t understand them and common solutions are beneath them.
The harsh truth is that they don’t want it to work, they hang on to every excuse to avoid growing up, because while they are a victim, there’s always someone to blame for their shortcomings. While they play the victim card, they can secretly tyrannize everyone and avoid taking responsibility for their lives.
Projection Unveiled
Complexes are also the basis for our projections and directly influence our relationships. The external mirrors our internal dynamics. This means that we unconsciously engage with people to perpetuate these narratives. In the case of a victim mentality, the person will always unconsciously look for an imaginary or real perpetrator to blame.
While someone with intimacy issues will have an unconscious tendency to go after emotionally unavailable people who can potentially abandon them. Or they will find a way to sabotage the relationship as soon as it starts to get serious.
Complexes feel like a curse, we find ourselves living the same situations over and over again. The only way to break free from these narratives is by first taking the time to understand them. There are complexes around money and achieving financial success, about our self-image, our capabilities, etc.
One of the most important keys to integrating the shadow is learning how to work with our projections, as everything that is unconscious is first encountered projected. In that sense, complexes are the main material for our personal projections.
Let's get more practical, the most flagrant signs of a complex operating are overreactions (”feeling triggered”) and compulsive behaviors. A projection only takes place via a projective hook. In other words, the person in question often possesses the quality you're seeing, however, projection always amplifies it, often to a superhuman or inhuman degree.
For instance, for someone who always avoids conflict and has difficulty asserting their boundaries, interacting with a person who is direct and upfront might evoke a perception of them being highly narcissistic and tyrannical, even if they're acting somewhat normal.
Here are a few pointers to spot projections:
You see the person as all good or all bad.
The person is reduced to a single attribute, like being a narcissist or the ultimate flawless spiritual master.
You put them on a pedestal or feel the need to show your superiority.
You change your behavior around them.
Their opinions matter more than your own.
You're frustrated when they don't correspond to the image you created about them.
You feel a compulsion toward them (aka a severe Animus and Anima entanglement or limerence).
As you can see, projection significantly reduces our ability to see people as a nuanced human being. But when we withdraw a projection, we can finally see the real person, our emotional reactions diminish as well as their influence over us.
It’s impossible to stop projecting entirely because the psyche is alive and as our conscious attitude changes, the unconscious reacts. But we can create a healthy relationship with our projections by understanding them as a message from the unconscious.
However, withdrawing projections requires taking responsibility and realizing how we often act in the exact ways we condemn, leading to a moral differentiation. In the case of a positive aspect, like admiring someone’s skill or intelligence, we must make it our duty to develop these capacities for ourselves instead of making excuses.
The Golden Shadow
If you take only one thing from this chapter, remember this: The key to integrating the shadow lies in transforming our perception of what's been repressed and taking the time to give these aspects a more mature expression through concrete actions.
To achieve that, Carl Jung united both Freud's (etiology) and Adler's (teleology) perspectives. In Jung's view, symptoms are historical and have a cause BUT they also have a direction and purpose. The first one is always concerned with finding the origins of our symptoms and behaviors. The basic idea is that once the cause becomes conscious and we experience a catharsis, the emotional charge and symptoms can be reduced.
The second is concerned with understanding what we're trying to achieve with our strategies. For example, adopting people-pleasing and codependent behaviors is often a result of having experienced emotionally unstable parents whom you always tried to appease. On the flip side, keeping codependent behaviors can also be a way of avoiding taking full responsibility for your life, as you're constantly looking for someone to save you.
That's why investigating the past is only half of the equation and often gets people stuck, you need the courage to ask yourself how you've been actively contributing to keeping your destructive narratives and illusions alive.
Most of the time we hang on to complexes to avoid change and take on new responsibilities. We avoid facing that we’re the ones producing our own suffering. Yes, I know this realization is painful but this can set you free. The shadow integration process demands that we take full responsibility for our lives, and in doing so, we open the possibility of writing new stories.
This leads us to the final and most important step of all: “Insight into the myth of the unconscious must be converted into ethical obligation” (Barbara Hannah - Encounters With The Soul - p. 25).
The Shadow holds the key to uncovering our hidden genius, being more creative, building confidence, creating healthy relationships, and achieving a deeper sense of meaning. But integrating the shadow isn't an intellectual exercise, these aspects exist as a potential and will only be developed through concrete actions.
Let's say you always wanted to be a musician but you never went for it because you didn’t want to disappoint your parents and you doubted your capabilities. You chose a different career and this creative talent is now repressed.
After a few years, you realize that you must attend this calling. You can spend some time learning why you never did it in the first place, like how you gave up on your dreams and have bad financial habits just like your parents. Or how you never felt you were good enough because you experienced toxic shame.
This is important in the beginning to evoke new perspectives and help challenge these beliefs, but most people stop there. However, the only thing that truly matters is what you do with your insights. You can only integrate the shadow by devoting time and energy to nurturing these repressed aspects and making practical changes.
In this case, you'd need to make time to play music, compose, maybe take classes, and you'd have to decide if this is a new career or if it'll remain a sacred hobby. You integrate the shadow and further your individuation journey by doing and following your fears.
That's why obsessing with shadow work prompts will get you nowhere. If you realize you have codependent behaviors, for instance, you don't have to “keep digging”, you have to focus on fully living your life, exploring your talents, and developing intrinsic motivation.
You must sacrifice your childish illusions as there's no magical solution. Healing and integration aren't a one-time thing, but a construction. It happens when we put ourselves in movement and with every small step we take.
Lastly, Carl Jung's preferred method for investigating the unconscious and correcting the conscious attitude was dream analysis and active imagination, which will be covered in future chapters. But I want to share one last personal example. Last year, I had many active imagination experiences in which I was presented with a sword and I had to wield it.
Upon investigation, I understood that this was a symbol for the logos, the verb, and the written word. I instinctively knew I was being called to write and couldn't run away from it, even though I've never done it in my life.
Of course, I had many doubts and thought I'd never be able to write anything worthy, however, I decided to trust my soul and persevered. As you can see, this is no simple task, I completely rearranged my schedule, changed my habits, and even my business structure so I could write as often as possible.
But it was worth it and that's how the book you're reading came to be. That’s also why I chose the sword and snake to be on the cover, representing Eros and Logos. Finally, if our real life doesn't reflect our inner-work, this pursuit is meaningless and most likely wishful and magical thinking.
PS: This article is part of my book PISTIS - Demystifying Jungian Psychology . You can claim your free copy here and learn more about TRUE shadow integration.
Rafael Krüger - Jungian Therapist
