Conger (1988) adapts the Jungian concept of the shadow archetype–which is the reservoir of all that is negative and dislikable about our personalities–to argue that it is the body itself which is the shadow side of the psyche. I agree with Conger but go a step further to say it is the outward manifestation of the unconscious a la Aristotle’s concept of the body-soul. This concept is easy to illustrate in that we don’t need to go rummaging around in the self-darkness of our own flesh—although that it is a main avenue toward healing and wholeness—but merely need to look around at the everyday experiences of body unhappiness; the normative discontentment with our bodies as they actually are. We take out a lot of our own self-hatred and anxieties on the body.
Many body image researchers focus on the self-discrepancies between the actual body-self and the ideal body-self. This comes to us from Higgins’s (Higgins, 1987, 1996) self-discrepancy theory based on the principle that the greater the distance between the actual and the ideal selves causes a corresponding increase in psychological stress including body dissatisfaction, negative mood, depression, lowered self-esteem, eating behaviors, and androgenic steroid use, and compulsive exercise.
That is, there is a corresponding positive relationship between self-discrepancy and personal suffering. One aspect of the body as shadow is that it is composed of the feared and unwanted parts of the body-self.
Recognizing the implications of the distinction between the desired and undesired selves, Carver et al. (1999) examined the ought, ideal and feared global self-discrepancies as predictors of feeling chronically agitated or dejected. They hypothesized that ought self-discrepancies would be related to agitation-related affects and that ideal self-discrepancies would be related to dejection-related affects. Carver et al. expanded further on Higgins’ theory to predict that when a person is close to the feared self their principal concern will be to avoid it in any way possible. However, when an individual is further from being a feared self, he or she is free to pursue a more positive self. That is in line with Higgins’s (1987) theory, the predictive power of the ought self should be stronger in feelings of anxiety and guilt and the predictive power of the ideal self should be stronger in feelings of dejection such as depression and unhappiness. The results of Carver et al.’s study supported these predictions in relation to the ought self with significant interactions between ought and feared selves upon feelings of agitation.
In short, how you view your body-self–how it IS vs. how it SHOULD be–can a real pit of personal misery.
Their most significant finding, however, regards the differences between men and women in the interaction between the desired vs. undesired body selves. Women’s concern about body fat is omnipresent and can be very emotionally disturbing. These findings were about the study of actual vs. feared levels of body fat, but body fat is just one of a myriad of behaviors driven by body unhappiness. Men, on the other hand, tend to focus less on fat and much more on musculature and/or organ size.
The point is that we tend to run from our body-shadow in many, many ways. Here is a sample list with many drawn from my own experience.
- Judging yourself as not being as attractive as another person.
- Endlessly thinking about how one’s body should be.
- Using cosmetics excessively to hide real or imagined defects.
- Disguising one’s body with loose clothing.
- Avoiding situations where parts of one’s body may be seen.
- Using herbal supplements to stimulate fat burning, muscle development, or libido enhancement.
- Constantly checking “one’s look” in reflective surfaces both in public and private or avoiding looking at one’s reflection in a mirror.
- Anxiety and guilt about not exercising.
- Anxiety and guilt about eating “the wrong things.”
- Being chronically anxious or depressed about the shape and/or appearance of the body.
Closing Thoughts
The list can go on and on, but you get the picture. Each of us has a shadow side regarding our bodies: things we don’t like about it, features that shame or embarrass us, an unattractive physical appearance, certain failings and defects and the like. The shadow is made up of the reality that our body lacks certain features or characteristics and that there is a great discrepancy between our actual body—the feared one—and the ideally desirable one. Sadly, such is the human condition.
Paul Shane, Ph.D., LMT
Director, Academic Content
References
Conger, J. (1988). Jung & Reich: The Body as Shadow. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Higgins, E. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review 94, p. 319- 340.
—– (1996). Ideals, oughts and regulatory focus: Affect and motivation from distinct pains and pleasures. In P. Gollwitzer & J. Bargh (Eds.), The Psychology of Action: Linking Cognition and Motivation to Behavior. New York, NY: Guilford Press, pp. 91-114.
Woodman, T. & Hemmings, S. (2008). Body image self-discrepancies and affect: Exploring the feared body self. Self and Identity 7, p. 413-429.