Complexes of the Jungian Psyche
Discussing the Populated Interior of the Personal Unconscious — The Jungian Psyche #2
Introduction
Following my previous article on the Jungian ego, we can now move a layer deeper into the psyche as described by Jung.
If we imagine our egoic consciousness being like the earth, we can liken the complexes to a wide array of meteors, satellites, and debris orbiting our personal atmosphere.
Psychologically, complexes exist as autonomous entities in the psyche. They are found in one's personal consciousness or subconscious. They are split-off parts of identity that lie dormant until provoked, at which point they can erupt into awareness, usurping the ego.
While the idea of these subpersonalities existing as autonomous entities within the unconscious is difficult for some to believe, there is a fair amount of evidence for this being factual. Jung was very stringent on following a scientific method for his psychological theories, and his research into complexes was done according to such protocols.
In this article, we will be fleshing out the idea of a complex as described by Jung, moving a step deeper into the ethereal inner world.
The information presented in this essay is pulled from Murray Stein’s insightful book, Jung’s Map of the Soul. Stein is a prominent Jungian analyst who has clarified the theories of Jung in a clear, lucid manner. For those looking to learn more about Jungian psychology, I highly recommend reading his aforementioned book.
Complexes
Jung first discovered the presence of complexes by using a word association experiment. He curated a list of 400 words that were mundane and insignificant to a majority of people. He would then add a few provocative words that were designed to elicit a stronger response.
In his initial observation, he noted that certain words produced a foray of responses from the subjects. Most notable were words that were met with anxiety, defensive reactions, and idiosyncratic behaviors such as rhymes and nonsense words. To him, this indicated that a deeper structure was being activated—signs of reactions against unconscious psychological conflict.
This led to the idea of a complex. While already a term that was being used by other psychologists at the time (such as Freud), Jung clarified this process in his own theoretical language.
“The associations exist … not between the stimulus and response words, but rather between the stimulus words and hidden, unconscious contents. Some stimulus words activate unconscious contents**,** and these are associated with yet other contents. When stimulated, this network of associated material—made out of repressed memories, fantasies, images, thoughts—produces a disturbance in consciousness. The complex indicators are the signs of disturbance” (Stein, pg. 39, 1998).
To clarify, a complex is a constellation of interwoven memories, fantasies, images, and thoughts. When something triggers any of the aforementioned psychic components, the whole constellation is triggered and made conscious.
These complexes are organized around a traumatic experience.
When we experience psychological wounding and trauma, a large portion of the pain goes “underground” into the unconscious. Usually, to not have to feel the extent of that pain again, we activate dissociative mechanisms that allow us to not be conscious of how badly the wound hurt.
However, it is not foolproof. Certain words or experiences can trigger the repressed trauma, bringing forth the charge of emotion that was never processed.
This is the mechanism behind a trigger. Something seemingly small and innocuous can be subtly wrapped up within a much deeper emotional wound. When triggered, the whole complex arises, bringing with it the painful emotion holding the constellation together.
While often an unpleasant experience, facing our triggers can be extremely powerful in getting to face our unconscious conflicts head-on. When we choose to consistently avoid what triggers us, the emotional charge doesn’t dissipate—we still carry it with us unconsciously. It may manifest in a myriad of psychosomatic symptoms or self-destructive behavior. Until made conscious, worked through, and released, our pain lies forever lurking in our shadow.
Constellations
As mentioned above, complexes are constellations of emotions, thoughts, images, etc. The term constellation can be confusing in a psychological context, so let us dive deeper into it.
“Usually it refers to the creation of a psychologically charged moment, a moment when consciousness either already is, or is about to become, disturbed by a complex” (Stein, pg. 43, 1998).
When the outward situation triggers a complex in an individual, a process is released whereby certain psychic contents gather and prepare for action. When someone is “constellated,” it means they have taken a position that is quite different from their usual self.
We’ve all seen someone suddenly overtaken by anger and morph into a completely different person. Here, the complex of anger was constellated, overtaking the ego.
These constellations exist on a spectrum. Any time the ego’s position is threatened, a complex has become constellated and is readying to take over. This can range from slight anxiety to totally losing one’s mind.
When one is constellated by a complex, it can feel as if they are in the grip of a demon—a force stronger than one’s will. This powerful psychic persuasion can leave one feeling devastated in the aftermath as hindsight creeps in.
Often, we don’t know why we feed into addictions. We may logically know they are bad for us, or react in such a way as to unnecessarily burn bridges, yet still partake in this destructive behavior. In a sense, we are truly in the grip of an unconscious entity outside of our usual identity.
It can even be said that the ego itself is a complex. It is simply the default constellation with the highest “charge”. When a complex is activated, its charge is raised, and if significant enough, will overtake the throne of egoic awareness.
We can liken this process to electrons changing energy levels. In physics, it has been noted that electrons will “jump” in the level in which they orbit around a nucleus. This shifting of energy is called electron excitation.
In this diagram, we can see how an outside trigger (the photon) interacts with the electron (unconscious complex), resulting in a constellated (excited) state.
As the complex shifts closer in energy level to the ego, the more it will have an affect on ego consciousness.
This is the paramount reason why developing a strong ego is so incredibly important. Developing an ego that can weather the marauding complexes, exercising its free will to remain in command, renders an individual with supreme self-empowerment.
Levels of the Unconscious
It would be correct to assume that a majority of complexes are personal. They are generated by a person’s specific life history and are unique to the individual. However, there are also family and social complexes.
These complexes are as personal to the individual as a disease would be. They belong to many people simultaneously, in which the individual can “catch” and relate to as to make it their own.
What was most striking to Jung, was how members of the same family held distinctly similar complexes. It was almost as if these were “passed down” psychically. Since complexes are formed by trauma, these familial complexes are a result of intergenerational trauma, snaking its way through the bloodline. This discovery led Jung to conclude that
“The unconscious is importantly patterned by close relationships in the family environment” (Stein, pg. 47, 1998).
The collective layer of complexes ranges far from the family of origin, to peer groups, to work colleagues, etc. At each stage of development a new social complex emerges that must be integrated or dealt with.
Despite the many facets of cultural and society one experiences, the original mother and father complexes continue to dominate the personal unconscious. These two complexes are responsible for much of our relationships with other people, the world, and even our spirituality.
Psychic Images
To Jung, the psyche’s essence was image. Since it was intangible by objective realities' standards, the psyche was better defined as being a subjective experience of images.
Often Jung would use the Latin word imago, instead of complex. This represented that these inner constellations were distinct from their real-world counterparts. The mother complex or image may be rooted in the actual mother, but operates on its own, subjective agenda.
It is the image of the mother, not the literal mother. This can lead to the complex being distorted by archetypal energies. When this happens it becomes impossible to see the actual object (in this case the mother) in a factual light. It has become inflated by mythic exaggerations.
As mentioned, the complexes are autonomous entities.
“A complex possesses psychic solidity; it is stable and endures through time. Left in its own space without intervention or challenge by ego-consciousness, a complex tends not to change very much” (Stein, pg. 49, 1998).
Without direct interference with the person's will, the complex will continue to constellate the individual in a similar, predictable fashion. This is evident when we see people make the same mistakes, time and time again, never learning from their complex-possessed state.
In the case of the constellated mother complex, someone who has had difficult relationship with their mother may project all sorts of inflated, archetypal themes on the women in their life. This renders them incapable of accurately viewing them for who they are and developing healthy relationships. Instead they will be stuck in an anxiety-riddled loop as the complex is continuously triggered, until worked through.
When we purposefully decide to understand ourselves, and work through our own psychic material, we can begin to understand what drives these complexes. In doing so, we can unravel the taught emotional hang-ups that are entangled in our unconscious, and achieve a deeper state of peace of mind.
In actuality, a large part of the inner battle is maintaining a strong enough ego. While the ego is the center of motivation and purpose, the other complexes seem to have their own separate will and purpose. These are often in direct conflict with the ego.
“Complexes cannot be made to do what the ego wants them to do. They are intractable. They are like frozen memory images of traumatic experiences. And they are not experienced only in dreams but in everyday life as well ,where they leave the ego feeling equally powerless” (Stein, pg. 52, 1998).
While we can’t banish them forever, we can do what’s second best: learn about, understand, and accept these complexes for what they are. In the end, we have the ultimate authority over how we choose to live our life.
Structure
To reiterate, the complexes are frozen memories held together by the unprocessed pain of the traumatic experience. These can include a web of interwoven words, images, thoughts, and feelings.
The complex also consists of a nuclear element. This is the original frozen memory on which the constellation is based. This core consists of two elements: the image of the experience and an innate archetype closely associated with it.
This archetypal core is what likens complexes to instincts. They are rooted in the primal pathways of the psyche.
While the archetype exists prior to the creation of the complex, the innate, motivational energy available from the archetype is tainted by an experience of trauma. Thus, what originally had the power to direct psychic energy in the individual now only serves as a vehicle for anxiety and restriction.
It goes without saying, but the stronger the complex, the more it will restrict the ego’s freedom of choice. If the complex is constantly being activated, it will make it very difficult for the ego to exercise its free will, as it will always be running into roadblocks.
A prime example of this restriction involves the creation of our persona, which I’ve written about here. When forced to deny our true feelings for the sake of social cohesion, a part of ourselves becomes fragmented from the whole and hearkened to the unconscious. This split is, at some level, painful, and germinates the seed of a complex.
What is not able to be consciously expressed finds its way out through various forms of “acting out” in increasingly perverse ways. What this acting out looks like is dependent on the individual's sense of social conformity.
In the end, the unconscious will always try and make itself conscious, and it cares little about how that makes you feel.
Eruption
One fascinating aspect of a complex is its ability to erupt rather suddenly into consciousness, completely usurping the ego.
When a complex erupts, its energy becomes more activated than the ego, taking over ego perception. This leads to the individual thinking they are still acting within the ego, oblivious to the fact that they are inhabiting a completely different set of values and morals.
This is the mechanism of possession. To an outside observer, it is rather obvious that the personality of the person has shifted, yet to the individual it is only recognized in hindsight. If one were to mention this shift, the individual in question will most likely respond with defensiveness.
“What we see in possession is that features of personality that are usually not a part of the ego’s character and style become blatantly manifest. These unknown features have been built up in the unconscious over a period of time, and suddenly the ego is overcome by this inner opposite. Now the person is possessed by the devil and curses the things that consciousness had formerly held most sacred” (Stein, pg. 56, 1998).
These possessions can be so subtle that they come on as a slight slip of the tongue and recede. Indeed, we pass through a multitude of “possessions” over the course of an hour without noticing the shifts. Rather horrifying.
Being truly possessed by a complex is hard to miss. We may see someone completely involved in their fantasy of living out a certain archetype. These character structures are usually not fixed. They tend to wax and wane because they are rooted in an autonomous complex outside of the ego. It also fluctuates rather arbitrarily, shifting between extremes in temperament.
These fluctuations are because the complex is rooted in trauma. When certain aspects are triggered, the complex can shift between the negative and positive poles, phasing in and out of conscious awareness as the individual avoids feeling the painful emotion driving the complex.
Only through diligent self-awareness are we able to monitor these shifts. We then take it a step further, and through humility are able to let go of the hold it may have on us.
Conclusion
Complexes are an extremely important concept to understand, as they are so practical to everyday life. It is most disturbing to realize the shifts of identity we subtly move through during the day. With such an ethereal playground of the psyche, it can be difficult to ascertain what is truly us and what is an unconscious wound masquerading as authenticity.
Are these complexes true expressions of who we are? They are, after all, fragmented parts of the personality. While they may be authentic parts of who we are, the persuasion they hold over us is what is so alien.
When we develop an aware ego, we are able to decide how we react to stimuli. A complex may represent a valid part of the personality, but we don’t have to blindly act on its whims.
Our free-will really is our greatest superpower. The first step is awareness, followed by action: noticing the various fluctuations in emotions and tracking what causes the ebb and flow.
When we clear up the night sky of all its floating debris, we are truly blessed with a magnificent view of the universe. Cleaning up our complexes paves the way for the stunning landscape of our soul.
— Recommended Reading —
Jung’s Map of the Soul by Murray Stein
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Deeply insightful, and in my personal life, perfect timing to dive into it and digest. Thank you. This is why therapy is so important. This part in particular was so timely: "When forced to deny our true feelings for the sake of social cohesion, a part of ourselves becomes fragmented from the whole and hearkened to the unconscious." – ties in strongly with yesterday's 10 Imox energy in Mayan Sacred Calendar. Really appreciate your work, keep it coming!