Social Norms and the Concept of Jungian Sacrifice

Social Norms and the Concept of Jungian Sacrifice
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April 7, 2022
Understanding individuals' various actions and decisions in line with their personalities is essential for any mental health professional. It allows him to understand better the underlying causes of a mental condition in relation to a patient's circumstances. In line with this, this article would like to focus on the case of A, a 34-year-old Mexican bisexual woman who was suffering from feelings of stagnation because of personal relationships, circumstances, and other external factors that affect her life. According to his case, A had experienced various hardships such as a history of being an immigrant, sexual abuse from a past relationship, and resentment against a family member, to name a few. However, A held her thoughts and emotions despite these circumstances, believing that it would be best for her situation rather than voicing out her concerns.
Accordingly, the author of this article believes that A's case presents a classic example of the Jungian sacrifice. According to Jung, the concept of sacrifice is a decision or action that individuals do consciously, fully aware that they are doing something without being reciprocated in return. In other words, the interaction between the ego and the self results in the decision that the kind of sacrifice made is the best decision for a more significant cause other than oneself. Aside from this, it must also be noted that the Jungian concept of sacrifice is an integration of both sacrifice and renunciation because the individual does not only goes against the natural instinct to protect oneself but even goes to the lengths of afflicting pain, torture, and suffering on his own volition. This, according to Jung, is part of a process that leads to life, death (symbolic), and reincarnation process that then makes them embrace the amount of suffering, thereby making them whole.
Going back to A's case, it could be seen that most of what she did in her life was in the nature of sacrifice. At first, she made several sacrifices involuntarily, such as taking care of her younger brother and getting used to changing places and bullying. As she was growing up, these were involuntary sacrifices because even though she believed that she was contributing to a greater cause (i.e., for the betterment of their family), she was forced i...