Psychologist Jung believed that everyone has a part in their inner self that he termed the “shadow.”
This “shadow” includes negative traits and emotions that individuals are unwilling to acknowledge or accept and are often projected onto others. Therefore, when we encounter those people we find most detestable, in reality, we are facing a mirror reflecting a side of our “shadow” within ourselves.
Self-Identification and Self-Protection
Jung believed that people tend to identify with their positive traits while overlooking or denying their negative ones. When we meet people similar to ourselves, their negative traits and behaviors can trigger deep-rooted anxiety and self-protection mechanisms within us. We may feel our self-identification is threatened because the existence of these individuals implies that we may also possess similar negative traits.
Projection Mechanism
Jung proposed that individuals tend to project their unacceptable or unacknowledged traits onto others. This projection mechanism allows us to maintain consistency in our self-image by placing our negative aspects onto others, making us feel better.
One may perceive themselves as hardworking, honest, and friendly. However, they may feel disdain toward a colleague who constantly procrastinates, lies, and behaves unfriendly towards others. In this case, their shadow side may entail laziness, dishonesty, and indifference, traits they are unwilling to admit. Hence, they project these negative traits onto their colleague, detesting their behavior while also hating their own potential negative aspects.
Through self-identification and projection mechanisms, we attempt to uphold our self-image and self-esteem. Nonetheless, this aversion reflects our dissatisfaction with the negative aspects within our inner selves. Understanding and accepting our “shadow” and cultivating more understanding and tolerant relationships with others are key factors in individual growth and mental well-being.
Here, we introduce a psychological technique – “OH Cards,” also known as “OH Cards Subconscious Projection Cards,” which can effectively aid in self-exploration, opening doors to understanding our inner selves in a new world.
During the use of OH Cards, individuals project their inner feelings onto the images and texts on the cards, thereby seeing deep-seated desires and fears, enhancing understanding and management of emotions and thoughts, and boosting self-value.
