The Puppet Masters

26.05.25

In the first part, we explored how the shadow is simply a term that alludes to everything that is unconscious and we’re unaware about ourselves. This also means that the shadow is neutral and it contains both positive and negative parts.

Speaking of which, you probably heard people talking about “parts” or “aspects” of the personality before. However, hardly anybody discusses complexes, which are the main elements of the personal shadow.

To be honest, I was shocked when I understood that these complexes can basically shape our entire lives and relationships, for good or for worse.

That’s why I like calling complexes the “puppet masters”.

The Psyche

Before we dive into that, it’s important to understand that Jung’s model of the psyche divides the unconscious into two categories, the personal unconscious and the impersonal or collective unconscious.

The first one contains lost memories, painful ideas that are repressed, subliminal perceptions, and contents that aren’t ready to be made conscious yet. Moreover, contents are personal when we can recognize in our past their effects and originate from our life experiences.

Additionally, the personal unconscious is mainly made out of complexes and corresponds to the figure of the shadow so frequently met in dreams. 

In contrast, the collective unconscious consists of primordial images, i.e., archetypes. In summary, archetypes are like a blueprint, a structure, or a pattern.

Now, the shadow is indeed an archetype, which means that as humans, we tend to experience its effects, confrontation, and integration, in a similar way.

However, intellectually naming and learning about archetypes is pretty much useless. Even if there are archetypes at play, we always have to understand how they are being expressed in an individual context, hence our focus on complexes.

Complexes Explained

In that sense, neurosis happens when we adopt a rigid and unilateral conscious attitude which causes a split between the conscious and unconscious, and the individual is dominated by his shadow and therefore complexes.

Simply put, complexes are an amalgamation of experiences around a theme, like the mother and father complex, an inferiority complex, a power complex, or a creativity complex. As I said, people commonly refer to them as “parts” or “aspects” of our personality.

These complexes can be grouped around archetypes, like the mother and father archetype, but their nucleus is always the individual experience. Moreover, Jung says that complexes have an autonomous nature and tend to present themselves in a personified form, like the characters that make up our dreams and figures we encounter during Active Imagination.

A modern example of the effects of a complex is Bruce Banner and The Hulk:

Bruce Banner aligns with the introverted thinking type. Plus, he has a very timid, quiet, and cowardly attitude. Naturally, this conscious attitude would repress any expression of emotion, assertiveness, and aggression. Hence, the Hulk, a giant impulsive, and fearless beast fueled by rage.

But we have to take a step back because it’s easy to assume that complexes are evil and pathologize them. Once again, our conscious attitude determines how we experience a complex. 

Remember the example about anger and creativity I gave you in the first part?

I repeat, the problem isn’t the shadow but how we perceive and engage with it.

Dealing With The Puppet Masters

Now, in the beginning, I said that complexes can shape our entire lives.

We can see their mischievous works whenever there are overreactions like being taken by a sudden rage or sadness, when we engage in toxic relationship patterns, or when we experience common symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The crazy thing is that while complexes are unconscious, they have no relationship with the ego, that’s why they can feel like there’s a foreign body pulling the strings and manipulating our every move. That’s why I like referring to complexes as the “puppet masters”.

To deal with complexes, It’s crucial to understand that they distort our interpretation of reality and shape our sense of identity by producing fixed narratives that play on repeat in our minds.

These stories prime us to see ourselves and the world in a certain way, also driving our behaviors and decisions. The less conscious we are about them, the more power they have over us.

In that sense, neurosis means that a complex is ruling the conscious mind and traps the subject in a repeating storyline. Complexes feel like a curse, we find ourselves living the same situations over and over again.

There are complexes around money and achieving financial success, about our self-image, our true capabilities, what we deserve in relationships, etc.

The only way to break free from these narratives is by first taking the time to understand them and realize how we’re contributing to keeping them alive. Once we can map these complexes, we can take the necessary action to disrupt these narratives and create new stories.

Here’s an example. A lot of people carry a complex revolving around shame and as a compensation for these feelings of inferiority, they end up developing high levels of perfectionism.

Somewhere along the way, these people internalized the message that their value is attached to their performance and external results. In other words, their self-worth is attached to how good their grades are, how well they can perform at work, or how much money they make. They identify with their titles and accomplishments, with being the smartest person, or the perfect partner.

They live inside a story in which they’re never good enough and because their sense of value is externally based, they have the childish belief that if somehow they can become perfect, they’ll finally feel loved and accepted. In that sense, perfectionism becomes a strategy to earn love and not be abandoned.

But in this process, they forsake who they truly are and start operating based on what can give them the most validation and this is a key element because they start conflating validation with real love and intimacy.

Unfortunately, the exact thing they don’t want to happen always happens. They feel abandoned because they never reveal their true selves, they’re afraid of intimacy, and can’t show any vulnerability. 

Now, the right way to work with complexes and narratives is by first investigating their origins. In this case, we’ll probably analyze the relationship with the caregivers and what experiences shaped these stories. This is an important step because when something becomes conscious, especially when it’s an inherited pattern, it usually loses that overwhelming grip.

Then, we come back to the present moment and analyze what behaviors are keeping this narrative alive. In this case, there’s usually a lot of people-pleasing, pushing people away, and sometimes adopting the role of caretaker in relationships. Once we map these behaviors, we can finally start adopting new strategies.

Finally, it’s important to uncover all the repressed aspects covered by shame, especially the good ones, and devote time and energy to cultivating them. That way, a fundamental shift can happen from seeking external validation to finding self-love and feeling at peace with who they are.

This is just one example but I hope it illustrates how complexes can shape our lives and how often we’re walking in the world with narratives that were formed when we’re children.

Now, I want to take things one step further.

Shadow Triggers

What I didn’t tell you until now, is that these complexes are also the main material for our projections, and learning how to withdraw our projections is the foundation of shadow integration as everything that is unconscious is first encountered projected.

In other words, our shadow is always first encountered projected. Once again, we’re referring to good and bad qualities.

Because complexes produce fixed scripts they also evoke relationship patterns. This means that we unconsciously engage with people to perpetuate these narratives.

The external mirrors our internal dynamics.

For Instance, in the case of someone identified with a victim complex, they’ll unconsciously look for an imaginary or real perpetrator to blame.

While someone with intimacy issues will have an unconscious tendency to go after emotionally unavailable people who can potentially abandon them. Or they will find a way to sabotage the relationship as soon as it starts to get serious.

But as we’ve seen, to disrupt these narratives, it’s important to realize that something inside of us is running the show and take responsibility for it.

Projection Unveiled

Let’s get more practical, the most flagrant signs of a complex operating are overreactions (aka ”feeling triggered”) and compulsive behaviors.

Now, a projection only takes place via a projective hook. In other words, the person in question often possesses the quality you’re seeing, however, projection always amplifies it, often to a superhuman or inhuman degree.

For instance, for someone who always avoids conflict and has difficulty asserting their boundaries, interacting with a person who is direct and upfront might evoke a perception of them being highly narcissistic and tyrannical, even if they’re acting somewhat normal.

Here are a few pointers to spot projections:

• You see the person as all good or all bad.
• The person is reduced to a single attribute, like being a narcissist or the ultimate flawless spiritual master.
• You put them on a pedestal or feel the need to show your superiority.
• You change your behavior around them.
• Their opinions matter more than your own.
• You’re frustrated when they don’t correspond to the image you created about them.
• You feel a compulsion toward them (aka a severe Animus and Anima entanglement or limerence).

As you can see, projection significantly reduces our ability to see people as a nuanced human being and while they’re mythologized in our minds, they’ll always exert immense power over us.

But when we withdraw a projection, we can finally see the real person, our emotional reactions diminish as well as their influence.

Now, it’s impossible to stop projecting entirely because the psyche is alive and as our conscious attitude changes, the unconscious reacts. But we can create a healthy relationship with our projections by understanding them as a message from the unconscious.

However, withdrawing projections requires taking responsibility and realizing how we often act in the exact ways we condemn, leading to a moral differentiation.

In the case of a positive quality, like admiring someone’s skill or intelligence, we must make it our duty to develop these capacities for ourselves instead of making excuses.

In the last part, we’ll discuss the final key to integrate the shadow.

• Read Next: How To NOT Integrate The Shadow (And The Best Methods)

Rafael Krüger – Live an Audacious Life

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