"The numbers are striking. Videos tagged #shadowwork have accumulated over 2.3 billion views on TikTok. The Shadow Work Journal by Keila Shaheen, a self-published workbook based on Jungian concepts, outsold every other book on Amazon in September 2023-including Oprah. It has now sold over a million copies. Jordan Peterson's lectures on Jungian psychology have drawn millions of viewers to concepts like archetypes, the shadow, and individuation."
"The simplest explanation is that people are hungry for something that mainstream psychology stopped offering: depth. For decades, the field has moved toward symptom-focused, manualized treatments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy teaches you to challenge distorted thoughts. Medications adjust neurotransmitter levels. Both approaches have value and help many people. But something gets lost when psychology becomes purely technical. The questions that haunt us at 3 a.m. (Why do I keep repeating the same patterns? Why can't I feel truly connected to others?"
Jungian concepts such as archetypes, the shadow, and individuation have surged in popularity, especially on platforms like TikTok and through bestselling self-published workbooks. Massive engagement metrics and widespread book sales show strong interest from Gen Z and millennials. Contemporary psychology’s emphasis on symptom-focused, manualized treatments and medication has left many people seeking frameworks that address meaning, recurring life patterns, and relational emptiness. Jungian depth psychology promises access to buried parts of the psyche and narratives that explain persistent inner conflicts. The trend prompts questions about whether Jung’s metaphysical ideas actually satisfy those seeking practical psychological depth.
Read at Psychology Today
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