Skip to Main Content
18
Views
4
CrossRef citations
Altmetric

Section I: Theory and Practice

Shame: The Enemy within

Pages 255-264
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
Translator disclaimer

This article describes the author's understanding of shame and the relationship between shame and enmity. “The enemy” does not merely represent hostile external forces, but also dark forces within the self that lead to inner conflicts. The expression of these dark forces may be recognized in dreams; by the use of words such as devil, demon, Satan, fascist, or nazi in relation to self or other; and in religious fundamentalism. Such expressions may represent inner fantasies and/or feelings from childhood, introjections that symbolize the “bad parent.” By projecting the destructive parent onto others, the child, and later the adult, relieves his or her fears and discomfort. The division or split between “good” and “evil” forces is a universal phenomenon affecting individual lives, groups, and nations. These ideas are illustrated with clinical examples, comments on Sophocles' version of the Oedipus myth, and a critique of Freud's concept of the Oedipus complex, including how abuse and shame in his personal life influenced his theory.

Additional information

Author information

Hanna Hyams

Hanna Hyams, M.S.W., is a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst in private practice in Geneva, Switzerland. She is also a Jungian therapist, a family therapist, a Gestalt therapist, and the founder of Centre Essor, which has done teaching, training, and personal development for the past 15 years.

Errata

 

People also read