If you want to face your shadow so you can heal your past and live your best life in the future then you need this list of 62 shadow work prompts that will help promote your healing.
What Is Shadow Work?
Shadow work is a healing practice that brings the most uncomfortable, and often suppressed parts of your personality into your awareness so you can address and heal them.
With shadow work, you will identify and work through…
- Triggers – Identifying and dealing with things other people do that bring up negative reactions in you.
- Fears – Establish if your fears are rational or irrational and how you’re going to deal with them.
- Toxic Beliefs – Facing up to any judgments or resentment you hold towards others.
- Flaws – Working on areas of yourself that you actually need to improve and letting go of perceived flaws society has placed on you.
What Is A Shadow Work Prompt?
A shadow work prompt is a difficult and challenging question designed to bring any issues hiding in your subconscious into your awareness so you can work on healing them.
Shadow work prompts allow you to answer questions that you might never have thought of yourself.
In turn, this allows you to get to know yourself on a much deeper level than if you were trying to think of all your questions alone!
Understandably, it can be super hard to think of questions for your shadow work…
After all, the right questions for shadow work will bring up the most uncomfortable emotions that you’ve likely spent years trying to avoid at any cost!
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Emotions That Shadow Work Prompts Can Help With…
- Fear
- Jealousy
- Resentment
- Low Self Esteem
- Disgust
- Anxiety
- Shame
- Annoyance
- Sadness
- Anger
… and many, many more emotions that feel super uncomfortable to face!
Why Should You Practice Shadow Work?
Shadow work is the healing practice of bringing the most uncomfortable, and often suppressed parts of your personality into your awareness so you can address and heal them.
It’s not meant to be easy, in fact, it can be downright excruciating!
But shadow work is one of the most powerful ways of helping you find peace with the parts of yourself that you currently feel ashamed, scared, and hateful of… meaning you can start to embrace your true self fully and unconditionally…
Which is an absolute must when you want to develop yourself spiritually!
How To Practice Shadow Work
One of the easiest ways to practice shadow work is to simply wait for moments during your day-to-day life where you experience negative emotions, triggers, or people that do something you don’t like.
When you experience a negative emotion like this during your day, ask yourself ‘why?‘
Why…
- am I triggered?
- don’t I like that?
- did I feel angry at that person?
- am I so annoyed by this?
And keep asking those difficult ‘why’ questions until you get to the real root of the emotion and you can identify where that negative feeling comes from.
If you prefer to block out some time in the day to solely focus on shadow work then a shadow work journal is essential.
How do you do a shadow work Journal?
The first step before you start your shadow work journal is to ground yourself and find courage… because this is not going to be easy!
But the good news?
It’s going to be so helpful for discovering all your hidden dark thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors so you can really begin to heal!
Here’s how to get started with your shadow work journal…
- Buy a new journal that you can dedicate to shadow work… and of course, treat yourself to a new pen too!
- Find a relaxing and quiet place where you can focus undisrupted and write down the most challenging and uncomfortable questions you can possibly think of!
- Once you’ve made a list of questions that make you squirm and cringe, begin to answer them honestly!
- For the best results with a shadow work journal, always go with the first thought that pops into your head because that’s usually the most truthful answer.
- Notice any emotions that come up and as noted above, keep asking yourself ‘why’ you feel the way you do in order to dig deeper and deeper into your subconscious.
- Write down anything you realize, your emotions, and your feelings
The journal method is my fave way to do shadow work because writing down my answers allows me to look back when I need a reminder of how far I’ve come.
And the most beautiful thing about your shadow work journal is that it’s totally private and personal…
So allow yourself to write down anything that comes up, regardless of how horrible it feels!
When To Practice Shadow Work?
Although shadow work is a fantastic healing process it can be emotionally draining, extremely challenging, and can leave you feeling pretty vulnerable.
So the best time to practice shadow work is when you have a quiet moment in your day where you can rest after.
A great tip is to have some self-care activities lined up ready for after so you can unwind and recharge.
Check out some wonderful self-care tips right here!
P.S. Don’t Forget To Save These Shadow Work Prompts By Clicking Here
62 Shadow Work Prompts You Need To try
1. What emotion do you try to avoid? What triggers this emotion within you?
2. Who has hurt you in the past and what would you say to them now?
3. What do you think your worst trait is and why? In what ways does this trait bring positivity into your life?
4. Are you holding any grudges against someone? Why haven’t you been able to let go of that resentment?
5. What do you need to forgive yourself for?
6. Are there any privileges in your life that you take for granted?
7. What promises have you made to yourself that you’ve broken? How does that make you feel?
8. What words would hurt you the most if someone used them to describe you? Why does that hurt you so much?
9. Do you find it easy to ask others for forgiveness?
10. Who is the most forgiving person you know? Do you wish you were more like them?
11. What are some ways you could be more forgiving?
12. What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?
13. Are there times when you could have been kinder to yourself?
14. Are there times when you could have been kinder to others?
15. What is your saddest memory? Why does it make me feel this way?
16. If you went back 5 years, what would you do differently and why?
17. What is the biggest opportunity you’ve missed out on that you wish you had taken up?
18. What is your biggest regret? Why do you feel this way?
19. What makes you feel really angry?
20. In what ways do you mask your true authentic self? And why?
21. How often do you lie to yourself?
22. How was your childhood? What could have been better?
23. Do you consider asking for help a sign of strength or weakness?
24. What is the most hurtful thing anyone could say to you?
25. When were you treated unjustly as a child and how does that make you feel now?
26. When was the last time you openly criticized someone else?
27. When was the last time you said something hurtful to someone? How do you think that person felt then and now?
28. In what ways are you letting yourself down at the moment?
29. What do you hope to achieve with shadow work?
30. Who in your life doesn’t make you feel loved, heard, and valued?
31. What is the nastiest thing someone has said to you that left you feeling hurt?
32. If you could change one thing about yourself what would you change?
33. Do you live your life according to what you really want or how you think others want you to be?
34. What makes you feel really sad?
35. What’s the biggest trait you see in other people that you wish you had yourself?
36. Are you prejudiced against people who are different from you in any way?
37. What has been your biggest failure?
38. Have you ever felt jealous about how someone else looks?
39. Have you ever experienced jealousy over what others have?
40. What’s the one biggest goal you have that you feel you won’t ever achieve? Why do you think you won’t achieve this goal?
41. Have you ever kept quiet when you wished you had spoken up? Why didn’t you have the confidence to speak your truth?
42. When did you agree to do something that you really didn’t want to do? Why did you agree?
43. In what ways do you self-sabotage your own progress?
44. When did you feel embarrassed and ashamed about something you did? Can you offer yourself forgiveness now?
45. Think back to a time when someone did something to you that you felt was really unfair? Why did you feel that way?
46. What misconceptions do you think people have of you? Why do you think that?
47. What are you most frightened of happening?
48. What would you like to be appreciated and recognized for?
49. Do you hold any toxic judgments about other people?
50. What makes you feel the most valued? Why does it make you feel this way?
51. What irrational fears do you have and how are they holding you back?
52. What values did your parents or caregivers have whilst you were growing up?
53. Did your parents have traits and beliefs that you now have too?
54. What relationships in your life are no longer serving you? Can you let those people go? How are they negatively affecting you and how would your life improve if you cut ties?
55. When did you ever feel really unsafe?
56. What’s the most hurtful thing you’ve said and done to yourself?
57. Is there anything you do that is selfish?
58. What’s something you wanted to do but it’s now too late?
59. What is the meaning of life?
60. When was the last time you didn’t speak your mind?
61. Are you happy with the boundaries you’ve created with other people?
62. When was the last time you did something truly selfless to help someone else?
