This Jungian Life
"The monsters that chase you in dreams are not trying to hurt you. They just want to reunite with their creator………...… that's you, dummy." (Quoted from an unnamed Jungian analyst overheard at a cocktail party.) Today, we analyze four nightmares submitted by listeners: BBQ Cats, Blood Red Sky, Tsunami, and Malevolent Presence. Our dreams are always trying to correct our waking personality. They are a kind of psychospiritual medicine tailored just for us. When we avoid healing advice from the dream maker, pressure builds in our unconscious. Gentle suggestions...
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What wisdom do fairy tales hold about childrearing in our modern world? Briar Rose is the foundation for the familiar fairytale Sleeping Beauty. It addresses the complicated consequences of unconscious parenting. While it is understandable we wish to protect our children from harsh realities, too much shielding can hobble them later in life. We may hide our shadow from ourselves and our children, but it will irrupt uninvited one day, casting the family into chaos. Instinctive reactions often hold us in suspended animation, but they may also offer a way toward healing. “Parents...
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What hidden messages make Disney cartoons so impactful and enduring? Disney cartoons were groundbreaking. They introduced synchronized soundtracks in 1928, and today, they create extravaganzas that sweep audiences into tears and laughter, offering role models of virtue. Archetypal themes, often drawn from fairytales, thrum through the storylines appealing to the archaic levels of our psyche. Prepare to discover where Hermes is hidden in one of the characters, how childhood trauma activates archetypal helpers, whether Dumbo is a symbol of hope or a defense against maturation, how separation of...
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Aaron Balick is a psychotherapist, speaker, consultant, educator, and author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking. Social media invites snap emotional reactions, muddling clear thinking and escalating global tensions. It feeds on our anger, oversimplifying complex problems which blocks our ability to empathize. Nuanced explanations are demonized as if seeking to understand was an affront. If we learn to pause and reflect, we can overcome social media's divisive influence and discover middle-ground solutions in both personal and world affairs. Prepare to discover where emotional...
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Today's technology allows us to be seduced by the possibility of fame and celebrity tempting the ego to claim what does not belong to it. In earlier times, fame was garnered slowly through work in the arts, scholarship, religion, and the military. Today, unprecedented, almost instantaneous communication has made fame a commodity in itself. Novelty performers, entertainers, influencers, and sports stars—especially if young and glamorous—can become the victim of "audience capture." Fame tempts the ego to claim what does not belong to it, and the person may become identified with...
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If we lean into strange experiences with gentle curiosity, we may discover a level of psyche that acts directly on objects. Many of us have uncanny coincidences like thinking of a friend at the exact moment they ring us on the phone, but what about physical things breaking apart for no reason or luminous apparitions at our bedside? We often explain them away to reduce our anxiety, but Jung found them fascinating. He maintained a scientific attitude while accepting strange phenomena he could not explain. Eventually, he created a psychology of radical acceptance that creates space for the...
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Lisa, Deb, and Joe, Jungian analysts and co-creators of This Jungian Life podcast, have introduced thousands of clients to an inner world with unexpected resources. Many people just can’t rally to do what’s necessary and improve their lives. Is it possible they just don’t carry much vitality, or is some inner conflict blocking their access? We share personal stories of ‘energy loss’ and offer insights into purposelessness. Jung tells us inner energy flows according to its own laws, but if we can’t harness it? Prepare to discover why some people are naturally low-energy,...
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Deb and Joe are Jungian Analysts, authors, training analysts, and co-creators of This Jungian Life Podcast. [Lisa was away lecturing this week.] Most of us feel anxious at the thought of reliving the complicated and often painful experiences of our youth. When we receive a school reunion notice, we might be tempted to ignore it. Yet, on an archetypal level, we are drawn to re-unifying our current and past identities. If we accept the invitation, we may find unexpected joy and forgotten memories that restore something inside us. Prepare to discover why we plan and attend reunions, whether...
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Don Kalsched is a Jungian Analyst, an expert on treating trauma, author of two books, The Inner World of Trauma and Trauma and the Soul. Jung discovered our inner world is populated by various imaginal figures representing powerful psychological forces. If we treat our minds as democratic spaces, it can safeguard us from internal and external authoritarian influences. Prepare to discover the parallels between a balanced mind and a healthy society, whether viewing internal conflicts through a democratic lens is healing, which insights foster harmony, why democratic philosophy is transformative,...
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Defense mechanisms function as unconscious psychological strategies we deploy to navigate reality and sustain a consistent self-image. They act as a shield, guarding against feelings of anxiety, shame, and vulnerability. They are feeling states that prompt us to avoid contact and trick us into thinking they protect us against emotional harm. Ancient philosophers recognized the human tendency to evade uncomfortable truths. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he vividly depicts individuals shackled in a cave, seeing only shadows and illusions. Upon being freed and confronted with the light...
info_outlineIllness anxiety disorder (IAD), formerly hypochondriasis, is characterized by excessive worry about a severe illness, persisting despite medical evaluations and reassurances. Individuals with this challenge tend to misinterpret normal bodily sensations as serious symptoms, magnifying minor sensations like a cough into signs of lung disease. The key distinction between IAD and cautious health concerns lies in the intensity of worry and its debilitating impact on daily life. The Greek physician Hippocrates coined the term " hypochondria, " referring to the region beneath the ribs housing vital organs. He associated black bile, found in the spleen, with melancholic symptoms similar to contemporary understanding of depression. This link between physical and mental health laid the foundation for hypochondriasis. Sigmund Freud later classified hypochondriasis as a neurosis arising from unresolved conflicts between unconscious desires and societal limitations. Healthcare professionals have recognized the spectrum of health anxiety and introduced related diagnoses such as Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) and Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD). While the former involves distressing somatic symptoms, the latter entails excessive worry about severe illness with minimal or no medical evidence. Existential fear of death intertwines with hypochondriasis stemming from a fixation on mortality. This leads to cycles of dread and extreme reassurance-seeking behaviors. Anxiety surrounding illness may be an attempt to gain control over mortality, driven by fear of the unknown, loss of autonomy, body control, and the desire to preserve identity and relationships. Considering internal and external factors, Jung viewed each psychological symptom as an attempt to address an underlying issue. He saw repression as a partial dismissal of aspects of oneself, giving rise to neurotic symptoms. By exploring the symbolic nature of hypochondriasis, we can view it as an expression of soul calling us to map our psychic bodies. The energy disruption caused by the fear of illness can guide us to a new life direction, revealing unconscious opposites that demand attention. The fear of disease often masks hidden desires, such as a longing for attention and empathy, a quest for a unique identity, a need to evade unpleasant emotions, or an internal drive for perfection. Unmet needs for nurturance, a desire for certainty amidst chaos, and escaping isolation can also contribute. A deeper understanding can pave the way for healthier alternatives: cultivating nurturing relationships, finding personal significance outside of health status, developing emotional resilience, fostering a balanced perspective on success and failure, nurturing independence, practicing self-forgiveness, recognizing uniqueness beyond health, promoting open communication, and learning to cope with uncertainties. The path to unraveling Illness Anxiety Disorder may be complex, but recognizing the exaggerated fears as a means to divert attention from deeper truths can be instrumental. Relaxing into the fantasies born out of panic can lead to unexpected insights, unveiling new meanings and offering potential avenues for resolving misplaced dread.
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