(no subject)
This is a psychological theory introduced to me by my therapist, Don. I figured that I'd share his wisdom for I thought it may answer a couple of questions of those who go through similar things as I. It's an excerpt from an e-mail he wrote me in a correspondence we had about four weeks ago.
"I would like to talk to you about a fairly sophisticated concept in psychotherapy. You have the insight to understand this. It is called 'embracing your shadow.' Your shadow, Jess, is all the darkness that you feel. It is the desire to hurt yourself, hate yourself, and desire death. Some people try to deny the shadow's existence. They are deceiving themselves, because the shadow is in all of us. Some people join cults, become evangelical, drink, smoke, or maybe cut themselves in order not to feel their shadow. But the shadow is there. It is there for a reason. Embracing the imperfect dark side of ourselves is to become whole. None of us is all good or all bad. We are all a wonderful blend of good AND bad. To understand this is a huge step toward wisdom, acceptance of ourselves, and compassion for others. I challenge you, Jess, to embrace your imperfections and to be a whole person. If you embrace your cutting, it will go away."
I hope that helped someone out there for it wasn't too terribly much of a comfort to me initially.
"I would like to talk to you about a fairly sophisticated concept in psychotherapy. You have the insight to understand this. It is called 'embracing your shadow.' Your shadow, Jess, is all the darkness that you feel. It is the desire to hurt yourself, hate yourself, and desire death. Some people try to deny the shadow's existence. They are deceiving themselves, because the shadow is in all of us. Some people join cults, become evangelical, drink, smoke, or maybe cut themselves in order not to feel their shadow. But the shadow is there. It is there for a reason. Embracing the imperfect dark side of ourselves is to become whole. None of us is all good or all bad. We are all a wonderful blend of good AND bad. To understand this is a huge step toward wisdom, acceptance of ourselves, and compassion for others. I challenge you, Jess, to embrace your imperfections and to be a whole person. If you embrace your cutting, it will go away."
I hope that helped someone out there for it wasn't too terribly much of a comfort to me initially.