What is Shadow Work?

Shadow work is really just learning to sit with the parts of yourself you’ve been avoiding.
It’s not about fixing yourself. It’s not about becoming someone new. It’s about being honest.

We all have sides we show the world, and sides we keep in the dark. The shadow is the anger you try to hide, the jealousy you don’t admit, the shame you carry, the fear you never speak about. But those parts aren’t here to hurt you. They’re here to be seen.

I like to think of shadow work like cleaning out a garage. You know the boxes shoved way back into the corners, gathering dust? You don’t even remember what’s in some of them, but they’re taking up space. Shadow work is going into that garage, opening the boxes, and being with whatever’s inside. Some boxes are heavy. Some are full of stuff you thought you threw away. Some might even hold things you forgot you loved.

And here’s the magic: when you do this, you clear space. Space for new things to come in. Space for higher parts of you to show up. The garage becomes lighter, roomier, and more alive. That’s what happens inside of you too.

Most of the time, the shadow shows up when we’re triggered. Someone says something and you snap. You judge someone else and don’t really know why. You keep repeating a pattern you thought you left behind. That’s the shadow pointing you to a dusty box in the corner, saying, “Hey, there’s still something here.”

And I’ll tell you this—you’re not broken. You don’t need to fight the shadow. All it really wants is for you to turn toward it and listen. Because underneath every shadow is a story. A reason. A piece of you that thought it had to protect itself.

Shadow work is that moment of opening the box, looking inside, and saying:
“I see you. I know you’re here. And I’m not going to keep pushing you away.”

The more you do this, the more you realize, your shadow isn’t the enemy. It’s a doorway back to wholeness.