Aaron D. Neufeld

Aaron D. Neufeld- BLOG #35- ‘The Shadow Self’

Society molds the way we act, speak, our interests, etc. The friends we have and the people we meet are all shaped by society. The personalities of these people are their society personas. What they are hiding is their shadow self. The shadow self is their real personality, interests, etc. but it is clouded by the society persona which is generally more widely accepted.

The shadow must be utilized otherwise society persona controls us. Shadow can be utilized to form the self. It sounds difficult but the shadow aids in forming who we really are. If one is influenced strictly by society alone, then their society persona is their self. They’d lack true personality and would rather have society control who they are. The shadow self is uninhibited by society and is more of the raw persona of a person. Similarly to the Id and the Ego, is the society persona and the shadow self. The shadow self however helps create who we really are. Just as the superego would find the balance between the id and the ego, the shadow self rationalizes with the societal influences to create who we are. This combination draws out character traits of who we really are—individually and uniquely.