shadow self
Repressed inner darkness
The shadow self is a psychological concept from Carl Jung referring to the unconscious aspects of personality that the conscious ego doesn't identify with—often traits considered negative, shameful, or socially unacceptable.
In popular usage, it describes the hidden or darker side of one's nature: Therapy helped her confront her shadow self.
The term appears frequently in self-help contexts about integrating disowned parts of oneself.
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- doppelgängerGhostly identical counterpart
- psycheTotal mental life
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- dualityTwofold nature
repression · individuation · projection · symbolism · alter ego · repressed memories · id · gothic · dark night · integration · antihero · mirroring · existentialism · buried · authenticity · depths · confrontation · facing fears
- Dualityduality, dual nature, two sides, yin and yang, yin-yang
- identityidentity, personal identity, selfhood, ego, individuality
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- dark sideinner demons, dark thoughts, inner demon, alter ego, forbidden desires
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, private thoughts
- story tropesquest, hero's journey, plot twist, chosen one, red herring
shadow selfpersona
Assumed public identity
ego · conscious mind · public self · social mask · rational mind
shadow selfpersona
Assumed public identity
public self · social mask · false self · social identity · reputation
shadow selfhigher self
One's transcendent inner nature
ideal self · best self · light side · superego · anima