Psychiatrist Jung Carl Gustav, the founder of analytical psychology, explained with the concept of archetype that everyone has elements that they suppress, do not want to bring to light and push into the subconscious. Archetypes are the building blocks of the collective unconscious. Gene, life and environmental relations contain the emotional elements that form the archetype. It assumes that there is a shadow at the basis of the negative aspects that a person denies, ignores and suppresses by not facing himself/herself and that this is a part that lies in our self and forms us. Gustav refers to our suppressed emotions as the shadow self, which is seen as soulless, bottomless, gloomy, suppressed for different reasons that take place outside the awareness of the mind, and which we do not want to form a part of our self.
The shadow self is a personality state that progresses as part of the development that begins in early childhood, where social environments and behaviors are learned according to the stimulus. With development, it classifies the situations experienced in family, friends and social events as good and bad. While the person identifies the good events with himself/herself, he/she ignores the bad events and can put them in the background. Bad events in the background create the shadow self and unconsciously fragment our personality. As a result, it creates how it wants to be seen or seen. The presence of shadows can shape the way you perceive life and the way you live. The shadow, which is the part of the self, secrets, repressed emotions, thoughts and reactions, primitive impulses, rejected, distanced or not even aware of what one has, tends to be ignored by the person. For this reason, shadows can remain hidden and veiled throughout life. Shadows cannot be gotten rid of by ignoring them, on the contrary, they become a part of the subconscious. The more the shadow is suppressed and ignored, the more it can take over the self. As long as it is not brought to consciousness and action is not taken for it, it can take control of life and direct it. The person who is in the middle of undesirable situations can deal with psychological and physical problems. Ignoring the shadows consciously or unconsciously can hinder a healthy life and mental relaxation. Subconscious and stereotypes can cause problems in perceiving the truth and prevent the person from self-realization. By not being able to go beyond certain boundaries and gain new experiences throughout life, a person may have restricted his/her life. By adopting the rules and regulations set by those around him/her, he/she breaks the relationship with the purity of his/her self and starts to multiply his/her shadows in the background. The person makes decisions by giving up his/her self and can be convinced that these are his/her own decisions. With the desire to be approved and accepted by his/her environment, he/she does this unconsciously and further develops his/her shadow self.
Jung stated that the way to realize the shadow self, the parts of it that emerge or remain hidden under the influence of the subconscious mind, is through self-discovery. Shadows tend to emerge one day, even if they are constantly suppressed. These emerging shadows will be psychologically reflected in mood, words spoken and behavior towards people. They should be recognized and tried to be changed by observing and analyzing them. Another method of revealing the shadow self is projection. If a person feels uncomfortable by seeing a situation that he/she denies and dislikes within himself/herself on the other side, the person tends to reflect his/her shadow self to the other side. The person is confronted with the situation that he/she is not satisfied with, that is, the situation of confronting his/her shadow. On the contrary, it may also tend to reflect the admired and desired characteristics. It is important to analyze the movements made, the same reactions to the same situation, the situations that attract attention and the dreams seen. In the future, projection can become dangerous. The unaccepted or desired shadow self can be projected onto the other person, and in the face of this situation, the feeling of hatred may increase too much and punishment may occur, or jealousy may occur as a result of excessive admiration. As a result, they may tend to be aggressive, commit murder and massacre.
REFERANCE: Gürol, E. (2006). Giriş. In C. G. Jung, Analitik Psikoloji (9-92), (2th Edition), İstanbul: Payel Yayınevi
