3 BASIC STEPS TO DEAL WITH YOUR INNER DEMONS THROUGH SHADOW WORK

You sense you have much potential, but you’re having trouble unlocking it….

There are several reasons for this: circumstances, opportunities, and maybe even people actually getting in your way. But behind all of this is one, even bigger reason: yourself.

Something blocks your ability to unlock your true power, and much of it lies deep within. For what is humanity at its very best other than tackling challenges? Without the full strength of the human heart, it can be difficult to unleash your true self.

This much was surmised by Carl Jung. According to him, the Shadow is more or less a manifestation of your darkest desires, but it could also be a manifestation of your doubts, fears-- things that limit you.

And all of these things follow you, much like your own shadow. In that case, then, what do you do from here?

Worry not, this guide will show you how. Here, you’ll learn the following:

What your Shadow really is
How it prevents you from achieving your true potential
How to overcome said Shadow

The Shadow Explained

As mentioned earlier, the Shadow is an amalgamation of all things dark within your psyche. It embodies lust, hatred, and even the petty feelings that you hold against your annoying next-door neighbor.

This was a concept pioneered by the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung. He surmised that the Shadow is part of your unconscious, and that it, along with your Persona-- the facade you put up in front of others-- partially determines who you are.

Ordinarily, your Shadow isn’t exactly a problem. We were not made perfect; the universe, God, and/or indeed even Natural Selection made us this way. However, the problem now comes when it starts to interfere with your thought processes.

Consider fear, for example. When you are in love with someone, you want them to be by your side. You want to hold their hand every day and hug them for the rest of your life, but somehow, you hesitate.

You think that you’re not good enough. You think that you can never be in the same league, and you probably also have a lot of past baggage setting a precedent for this particular thought process.

But the Shadow isn’t just about your inner darkness, either. It’s also about your propensity to actually project that darkness unto others: a concept known as Shadow projection.

There are several ways that this can manifest. However, all of which could be potentially harmful. For example, if someone you know isn’t doing well, instead of correcting them in a polite and constructive manner, you end up attributing your own weaknesses as the cause.

You may perhaps think that they’re weak or stupid. But this isn’t really about them-- it’s about you trying so hard not to show this inner side to anyone. In this example, you hate being vulnerable, and you likewise hate it when people around you are showing weakness.

However, the most terrifying thing about your darker self is actually the fact that this could crystallize and become truly what you are. When this happens, you can become cynical, convinced that the world is never going to change. If it does, it has to be subject to your standards or you may not find it acceptable.

If we go back to you wanting someone and ultimately not following through, this small qualm with yourself can grow into resentment and eventually self-hate. You become anything but capable of understanding that you have an inner beauty-- that you can improve if you want to-- and that you can go to the other person.

And once the transformation is truly complete, it can be difficult to reverse it. Your Shadow self can truly become your totality, and because it is the manifestation of your darkest thoughts, it can be absolutely detrimental to your relationships with other people.

Following the same example, if you continue to harbor such thoughts, you might outright resist any attempts from your friends to reach out to you. This is because you think they can’t help you overcome your truth and that they can’t penetrate your darkness.

Your friends may love you and they might be capable of great patience with you, but there is a limit to all of this. The more you resist, the more they’ll be inclined to distance themselves from you. This makes Shadow Work so imperative: it doesn’t just help you cope-- it helps you accept your inner Shadow.

The Fundamentals of Shadow Work

Dealing with your Shadow is never an easy thing. In fact, the thought alone can be difficult to accept. This is because the Shadow is all about the things about you that you can’t forgive or condone.

When, for example, you feel an urge to punch someone and hurt them so horribly that they would be left unable to walk for the rest of their life, you might rightly think that this is a terrifying aspect of yourself. After all, you can’t imagine hurting anyone for any unjust reason.

And yet, the reality is that this may well be one of the first steps to true Shadow Work. After all, before you even get to solving a problem, you have to acknowledge that there even is one to begin with. Only when you have properly assented to actually letting the Shadow Work start can you actually proceed.to change.

That being said, here are some of the steps you may have to go through in order to fully see the real you:

#1: Don’t think of your Shadow in a hostile way

Your inner Shadow is something that thrives from your personal hostility to it. This is because the more you deny and suppress it, the more you are actually fueling it. If you have anger issues, for example, you’ll likely deny it by getting even angrier and more difficult to deal with.

Naturally, this exacerbates the problem. As such, the only way for you to deal with it and still retain some semblance of comfort is if you actually treat it in a cerebral way. Be unbiased to your own darker self, and analyze instead where it is coming from and what it really is.

If you have insecurities, for example, you should ask directly why you have these insecurities. It could be that your friend is doing so much better than you, and that part of you wants to sabotage them simply to make sure you could be on even ground. It’s a dirty thought, but something you can work with.

When you are done with this, try to find solutions for this kind of problem. Is it something you can do internally alone, or do you actually have to make gains? Do you want to match your friend in every way, or do you want to move away from it altogether?

As you can see in this example, there are so many ways that you can work on this. You may choose to double down if it’s really what you want independent of the rivalry, or you can simply let go of it. When you do, do you become the best, or do you simply want to live humbly?

In either case, one thing is for certain: when you are done dealing with your Shadow in an objective way, results will follow shortly.

#2: Look at your past

The Shadow, much like yourself, is an ever-evolving presence. It starts from childhood-- with petty things such as hating your mom for not giving you a lollipop that one time, and it gradually develops into more complicated things.

In all this, however, patterns and continuity begin to emerge. This is exactly why many psychological thinkers tend to start their analyses as early as one’s childhood-- because childhood forms a huge part in the way one grows into another human being.

That being said, it’s not just about psychoanalyzing yourself. Identifying your Shadow and ultimately accepting it means making sure that you accept all of it. If necessary, ruminate through old photos or other memorabilia that make you think about what you have become now, as this will lead to further understanding.

#3: Be familiar with what triggers your Shadow

As the term implies, the Shadow is typically something that’s buried. It won’t show up immediately, but it can be set off by a series of triggers that will eventually creep into your mind.

For example, you may not see yourself as a person capable of great anger. However, when you start to suffer from a losing streak in games or even in life, this attitude becomes more and more difficult to suppress.

The key, in this case, is to learn the triggers, as these can give you insight about your Shadow. For example, if your fear starts to kick in when you’re told to do something, you likely do not have enough self-esteem.

And that is fine-- because now that you have identified the problem, you can start to finally give it a good resolution.

Final Word

As you can see here, there are plenty of ways that you can go through with your Shadow Work. Even better, there are multiple ways to actually solve them. However, it all boils down to acknowledgment.

Are you willing to discourse with yourself and talk about your Shadow? What do you want to do with your worst feelings?

While asking these questions, bear in mind the multiple avenues that you can take to fix it. Ask yourself what you really want to do, and find healing when you are able to fixate on the solution that works for you.

But most importantly, take your time. It can take a while to deal with your Shadow, and that’s okay-- what matters is that you are genuinely trying.