Carl Jung's Concept of the Shadow

Applying Psychology to Real Life Situations

All of your dark thoughts are stored and locked away in what is known as the shadow. Psychologist Carl Jung said the evil we are capable of is often stored in our shadow (4). The shadow is made up of “dark” thoughts we do not want to talk about. It is not good or bad, but we do not want to face the shadow. There is a shadow in everyone and it may take time to realize that we all have a darker side to us. It can take another person’s actions to realize the shadow within them and within yourself. 

Whenever I have a thought others may consider as “evil,” I often try to hide that thought by thinking of a happy memory. Instead of dwelling on my thoughts, I ignore them. This is an example of Robert A. Johnson’s concept of the wounded feeling function. The wounded feeling function is our incapability of feeling. The wounded feeling function doesn’t just affect individuals, but society as well. Society has made it seem as if we are wrong to think of anything forbidden even though we all have a “darker side” to us. I ignored my dark feelings and kept them in my shadow. According to Jungian analyst John Sanford, “…many fear or resist recognizing their shadow” (1). My shadow came up to the surface after a close friend of mine died in a tragic car accident caused by my friend Burt Lewis.

Burt and I had been friends for three years. A lot of my friends did not like him. They saw Burt as cruel and a compulsive liar. I saw a side of him that others did not see. I thought we’d always be friends. It took a tragedy for me to realize Burt’s true personality and my own shadow. 

Burt was driving under the influence of marijuana when he crashed into a tree while going 75 miles per hour. My friend Aaron was in the passenger seat. Aaron died from the impact of the crash. Burt was unharmed. I saw Burt right after the accident in the hospital and he was very apathetic to the whole situation. It crushed me to see Aaron on life support and Burt standing there as if nothing had happened. After the accident is when I realized that Burt’s personality had changed.