Shadow Work for All 16 Personalities
How to Stay Regulated in Chaotic Times
What happens when your personality flips into its shadow?
What happens when the world feels unstable and you can feel fear spreading through the collective nervous system?
Let’s talk about both.
Because you cannot collapse broken systems from a dysregulated state.
And you cannot grow if you don’t understand your shadow.
Staying Regulated in Chaotic Times
There are a lot of people spreading true information right now.
But when truth is delivered from a frantic state, what spreads isn’t clarity — it’s dysregulation.
And dysregulation spreads fear.
Having a regulated nervous system is like wearing an invisibility cloak in chaotic times. Fear lowers your discernment. Panic makes you reactive. Shame and guilt distort your judgment.
That does not mean you numb out.
That does not mean you become a robot.
The balance is this:
Face reality.
Don’t collapse.
Don’t panic.
Don’t bury your head in the sand.
Take calm, decisive action.
Small grounding acts matter more than people think:
Salt baths or scrubs
Lemon or basil in your food
CBD (without dulling awareness)
Limiting alcohol
Nature
Moving your body
Talking to people you love
Helping others
Practicing gratitude
You cannot tear down broken systems unless you build parallel systems first.
Quick action without replacement structures creates collapse — not transformation.
What Is the Shadow?
Your shadow is not evil.
Your shadow is a protection strategy that formed when you were afraid.
Using your shadow consciously is power.
Using it unconsciously creates shame spirals.
Shadow work is not about killing your shadow.
It’s about making friends with it.
You and your shadow become a team.
You decide who’s driving.
When that happens, shame dissolves.
Archetypal Shadow Patterns (Michael Teachings)
Each archetype has a positive pole (embodied) and a negative pole (shadow).
The Server
Power: Care, attunement, support
Shadow: Martyrdom, self-erasure, covert contracts
Overgives to secure attachment
Keeps score silently
Uses guilt instead of boundaries
Confuses being needed with being loved
Core fear: Abandonment
Script: If I give enough, you won’t leave.
The Artisan
Power: Creativity, emotional depth
Shadow: Chaos, volatility, intensity addiction
Creates drama to feel alive
Destabilizes calm environments
Romanticizes suffering
Core fear: Emotional deadness
Script: If it isn’t intense, it isn’t real.
The Warrior
Power: Protection, loyalty, decisive action
Shadow: Dominance, escalation, rigidity
Escalates instead of repairs
Tests loyalty
Treats vulnerability as weakness
Core fear: Being overpowered
Script: Strength is the only way to feel safe.
The Scholar
Power: Clarity, neutrality, understanding
Shadow: Withholding, paralysis, detachment
Intellectualizes emotions
Avoids decisions
Retreats into analysis
Core fear: Exposure
Script: If I don’t engage, I can’t be harmed.
The Sage
Power: Truth, communication
Shadow: Performance, exaggeration, attention manipulation
Talks instead of repairs
Performs vulnerability
Needs to be seen more than understood
Core fear: Invisibility
Script: If I’m not seen, I don’t exist.
The Priest
Power: Inspiration, elevation
Shadow: Saviorism, superiority
Helps without being asked
Frames others as less evolved
Resents others for not improving
Core fear: Meaninglessness
Script: If I elevate you, I secure my value.
The King
Power: Grounded leadership
Shadow: Tyranny, entitlement, ego protection
Expects loyalty without earning it
Avoids accountability
Re-enters without repair
Core fear: Loss of control
Script: If I’m not in control, everything collapses.
Fear Dragons (Jose Stevens)
Shadow patterns often show up in pairs.
Self-Deprecation & Arrogance
Both stem from inadequacy.
One says “I’m not enough.”
The other says “I must protect my image.”
Impatience & Martyrdom
Both are about control.
One pushes.
The other over-carries.
Greed & Self-Destruction
Fear of lack meets desire for control.
Stubbornness is the umbrella defense — resistance to transformation.
Enneagram Shadow Overview
Each Enneagram type is built around a core fear.
Type 1 – Fear of being wrong → Moral rigidity
Type 2 – Fear of being unloved → Control through care
Type 3 – Fear of worthlessness → Identity fused with achievement
Type 4 – Fear of insignificance → Emotional intensity as identity
Type 5 – Fear of depletion → Emotional detachment
Type 6 – Fear of betrayal → Suspicion and testing
Type 7 – Fear of pain → Avoidance of depth
Type 8 – Fear of control → Intimidation
Type 9 – Fear of conflict → Passive resistance
Myers-Briggs Shadow (16 Personalities)
When stressed, you lean into your inferior function.
You resemble your reverse-letter type.
INFJ → ESTP
INTJ → ESFP
INFP → ESTJ
INTP → ESFJ
ENFJ → ISTP
ENTJ → ISFP
ENFP → ISTJ
ENTP → ISFJ
ISFJ → ENTP
ISTJ → ENFP
ISFP → ENTJ
ISTP → ENFJ
ESFJ → INTP
ESTJ → INFP
ESFP → INTJ
ESTP → INFJ
Your shadow isn’t random — it’s predictable.
Human Design Not-Self Themes
When you’re aligned, you feel your signature:
Generator → Satisfaction
Manifesting Generator → Satisfaction & Peace
Manifestor → Peace
Projector → Success
Reflector → Surprise
When you’re in shadow:
Generator → Frustration
Manifesting Generator → Frustration & Anger
Manifestor → Anger
Projector → Bitterness
Reflector → Disappointment
Your not-self theme is your signal that fear is driving.
Real Fear vs Imagined Fear
When you feel activated:
Pause.
Ask yourself:
Is this a real fear?
Or is this an old memory hijacking my nervous system?
If it’s real → What action restores safety?
If it’s imagined → Where did this start?
Then coach yourself forward consciously.
Final Thoughts
You cannot eliminate fear.
But you can integrate it.
You cannot destroy your shadow.
But you can build a relationship with it.
And you cannot change the world from panic.
You change it from grounded, regulated power.
