Shadow Work:Release your inner childhood wounds to walk down the path of self love

Backdated to the 20th century,a Swiss psychologist,Carl Jung coined the term "the shadow self". He quoted that, "Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life,the blacker and denser it is".Further dissecting this infamous quote,a person's unknown dark side of the personality is a shadow self. So,what is the dark side of personality? The repressed and hidden parts of our shadow selves turn into projections onto our relationships.

According to Gabrielle Applebury,who has examined childhood shadow self as a subject,states that,"You maybe inherently creative but were taught as a child that this part of yourself is not relevant and thus it is not nurtured. As an adult, you may dampen this piece of yourself because you were taught to do so.Then,you may seem defensive if someone notes how creative you are".

Unraveling this quote to my perspective would mean that as children we all look for appreciation and acknowledgment from our immediate environment that includes our parents,teachers,friends and others. For the longest time,societal conditioning has quantified human intelligence on the premise of academic grades,hence,if any child was creatively intelligent rather than having logical and mathematical intelligence,reference to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence test; he was looked upon as a failure. Being taught to hide embarrassing parts of our personality rather than embracing it with confidence is a classic example of childhood wounding.

Doing shadow work makes us re-parent our wounded child which helps us re-connect to our authentic self. Some instances of childhood trauma include"

#1 Emotional abuse by parents,caregivers,and friends.

#2 Physical abuse by parents,caregivers or immediate family.

#3 Bullying by friends and family on personal aesthetics.

#4 Emotional neglect by immediate family.

#5 Death of a loved one.

#6 Body shaming at adolescence.

The aforementioned instances result in development of emotional baggage in a child's mind which in carried on as an adult for years altogether. In order to release this, one must learn to accept parts of oneself that have made us feel unloved which comes by re-framing the negativity and dis-empowering the mind from the bondage of self destructive thought patterns.

In order to live our true authentic selves,we need to bring to light the fragments of our unhealed fears to process and re-accept those tiny bits-piece by piece in order to reach a whole and integrated self. As per Jung's beliefs,one needs to feel whole rather than feeling fractured. By growing oneself into his/her own truest version and living authentically is when the shadow work is said to be done and completed. Some simple methods to heal your traumas can include:

#1 Write a letter to self that states all the childhood memories from an adult perspective chalking out the thoughts and feelings of the moments that made one feel neglected and provide a solution as to what you should have done.

#2 Journal your thoughts. Start small. On a daily,try to internalize your thoughts. Small questions like, "How do you feel today?"; "What do I need from myself?"

#3 Meditate.This increases mindfulness, releases triggered emotions and re-centres the chakras in the body.

#4 Make regular time for fun and lighthearted activities such as coffee with friends,a walk in a park,playing board games,watching a comedy movie.

#5 Offer love and compassion to those around you and be a good listener.

#6 Connect with like-minded people and share your stories.

A few final thoughts as I summarize my article,a key take away from this pertinent issue is that we need to honor ourselves and surrender our limiting beliefs.Greater self-awareness leads to relief,growth and authenticity. The world needs people with confidence, know who they are,who love themselves and are empowered.