shadow selves
Repressed inner aspects
Shadow selves are the hidden or repressed aspects of personality that a person doesn't acknowledge or accept.
The term derives from Jungian psychology, where the shadow contains traits, desires, and impulses deemed unacceptable—often projected onto others rather than recognized within oneself.
In popular usage, confronting one's shadow self means integrating these disowned parts: Therapy helped her face her shadow self.
The plural form often implies multiple suppressed aspects or, in some contexts, alternate darker versions of a person.
- dark sideHidden negative aspect
- alter egoA secondary persona
- split personalityFragmented identity disorder
- unconsciousNot awake or aware
- repressedHeld back from expression
Jung · psyche · mask · inner demons · duality · mirror · reflection · hidden depths · darkness · dark night of the soul · suppressed · projection · inner child · integration · trauma · buried · authentic · wounded
shadow selvespersona
Assumed public identity
public self · social mask · public image · social self · false self
shadow, self, shadows, shadowy, shadowed, shadowing, overshadow, overshadowed, overshadowing