AUDIO
Why is it that we sometimes fail to rise to life’s most important challenges? Why do we instead procrastinate, withdraw, self-sabotage, or feel unable to move toward the life we want?
This week, at a listener’s suggestion, Jungian analysts Lisa Marchiano and Deborah Stewart explore the concept of anti-libidinal forces in the psyche: those self-destructive impulses that oppose growth, pleasure, and forward movement.
“The spirit of evil is fear, negation, the adversary who opposes life in its struggle for eternal duration and thwarts every great deed, who infuses into the body the poison of weakness and age through the treacherous bite of the serpent; he is the spirit of regression, who threatens us with bondage to the mother and with dissolution and extinction in the unconscious. For the hero, fear is a challenge and a task, because only boldness can deliver from fear. And if the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is somehow violated, and the whole future is condemned to hopeless staleness, to a drab grey lit only by will-o’-the-wisps.” (C.G. Jung, Collected Works v.5).
We discuss the ways this phenomenon has been addressed within the profession, including Freud’s death drive, Melanie Klein’s concept of the bad breast, Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ predator in the psyche, and Donald Kalsched’s protector/persecutor.
Libido was understood by Jung to mean life energy, rather than being purely sexual. We explore how blocked libido can become depression, paralyzing fear, hoarding behavior, vicious self-criticism, or simply an inability to begin or complete what matters most.
Through stories such as Bluebeard, Jonah and the Whale, and Marduk and Tiamat, we consider inner monsters that threaten to devour vitality.
Anti-libidinal forces, however, are not the end of the story. We also discuss the heroic task of meeting fear, reclaiming disowned energies, and choosing life one step at a time.
In the episode, we cover:
What Are Anti-libidinal Forces?
We explore the aspects in the psyche that oppose growth and hinder us from achieving the tasks in our lives that matter the most. These forces may show up as procrastination, self-sabotage, or fear of the outside world.
Jung said that when libido is blocked, it can start flowing inward and down, which can look like depression. One of the common symptoms of depression is anhedonia, which means an inability to take pleasure in the things one used to enjoy.
Regression and the Pull of Childhood
Part of the psyche may long to retreat into the protected world of childhood. Freud’s idea of the death drive and Jung’s exploration of the incest prohibition both suggest that we must guard against this desire to regress to an infantile state. If we cannot resist the pull to unconscious regression, we will find ourselves living a life where metaphorically and literally we may struggle to get out of bed.
The Mesopotamian creation story of Marduk and Tiamat, in which Marduk slays the mother of the world, shows us how ego can conquer this chaotic, early, uroboric state. This is a myth we live everyday when we resist the temptation to regress, and instead choose to go out into the world.
Trauma and the Inner Protector
Some destructive patterns begin as defenses formed in response to early emotional wounds. Donald Kalsched’s work on childhood trauma presents the figure of the protector/persecutor, which keeps us feeling cut off from life in the interest of protecting us against further victimization.
Images of Anti-Libidinal Forces: Monsters, Dragons and Bluebeard Tales
Stories such as Bluebeard, Jonah and the Whale, Dracula, and Theseus and the children’s book, There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon, give symbolic form to forces that devour life energy.
Bluebeard and the Fitcher’s Bird type fairy tales demonstrate the power of the predator in the psyche, particularly for women. Many of us carry an inner voice that is harsh, shaming, and relentlessly critical (see Lisa’s book, The Vital Spark: Reclaim Your Outlaw Energies and Find Your Feminine Fire for a detailed discussion of this theme).
Anorexia as Aggression Turned Inward
We discuss anorexia as a powerful example of psychic energy turned against the self. It reveals how fear, control, and self-attack can become life-threatening. Eating disorders can become a monster that cannot be reasoned with, cannot be understood, and cannot be related to.
Resisting Anti-Libidinal Forces
If we always listen to fear and never manage to overcome the pull of indolence or lack of energy, then we wind up having a lot of unlived life to confront. We stay at home, we don’t celebrate at loved ones’ weddings, we don’t take that life-changing course that would have lit us up. Life asks us to maintain a constant struggle not to regress.
The Jungian concept of the hero’s journey gives us a kind of solution. We must go out into the world, resist regression to an infantile state, refuse to be devoured by the monster, and slay the “dragon mother”, setting ourselves free from the all-encompassing world of childhood. This heroic attitude requires us to take some necessary risks so that we can leave stagnation behind and move toward a fuller life.
We also explore practical methods such as journaling and speaking directly to resistant parts of the psyche. Giving these forces an image or a voice can begin to loosen their grip on us.
Here's the Dream We Analyze
"I was walking in an urban area, it felt a bit like the edge of a town. There were some industrial buildings below so I must have been on a bit of a hill. I was walking with a friend when I looked up and saw a feathery orb. It took a while, and some blinking in disbelief to realize that it was in fact an owl. I kept wanting to take a photo but didn't want to miss a second of seeing it by taking the time to pull my phone from my pocket. I was trying to determine if it was a special kind of owl, or if it was just flying in a curled up manner. Then we noticed a faded red string, or piece of material dangling from it. My friend grabbed it and pulled. Down came the owl and with it a human baby. The owl was surprisingly friendly and willing to be petted and touched. The owl and the baby were on a curb, and the baby was kind of half falling off it. The baby was very grubby, and partially wrapped in a dirty white cloth. My friend wanted to keep it but I was adamant we must call the police because someone must be missing their baby. I think I did call in the report, but we took the baby home with us in the meantime. I was walking all around with her, smelling her sweet warm head and feeling her soft baby cheeks on my cheeks. I had walked off on my own with her and was on my way out of town when I looked back and saw there was an Indian woman in a sari beckoning me back. I turned and started walking back".
Resources Discussed In This Episode
- Jung’s letter to Freud on the subject of incest, from Letters of C. G. Jung: Volume I, 1906-1950.
- Donald Kalsched, The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defences of the Personal Spirit
- Jack Kent, There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon
- Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Related Episodes
If you enjoyed listening to our episode on Dark Forces in the Psyche, you might also like:
