Problem:
Carl Jung emphasized that psychological wholeness requires confronting and integrating the shadow; the parts of ourselves that we reject, deny, or deem unacceptable. The shadow is not inherently evil; rather, it contains traits, emotions, and impulses that were suppressed because they were incompatible with external expectations or necessary for survival in difficult environments (Allen, 2016). In my experience, accepting the shadow has been vital for authenticity because rejecting it prolonged internal conflict. For years, I attempted to distance myself from anger, resentment, and emotional exhaustion that developed while caring for a selfish and abusive parent. At the time I believed that acknowledging these feelings made me cruel or ungrateful. Jung's perspective reframes this struggle: what we refuse to acknowledge does not disappear-it simply operates unconsciously, often shaping our behavior in destructive ways (Allen, 2016). Need Assignment Help?