Energy and Desire: The Jungian Libido

We tend to use the word "libido," in the Freudian sense, to capture the idea of sexual appetite. But the Jungian concept of libido is more expansive, inclusive, and helpful for understanding the way that energy and desire animate us throughout our lives.

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Jung used the word libido to describe the psychic energy, life force, or passion that drives us forward. This concept is called chi, qi, prana, and manna in other traditions. It includes sexual appetites, of course, but also our instinctive creative, intellectual, and spiritual growth trajectories. Kelly McGannon, writing for the Jung Society of Washington, summarizes Jung’s concept of libido in this way:

"This energy, which moves through all of life, is like water… It has a “natural penchant” and crackles with its own intelligence—it wants what it wants. You can’t will it to move or force it to take a particular direction… This energy acts fastidiously, insistent upon the fulfillment of its own conditions.”

According to Jung, moving toward the gradient of our libido — that is, moving in the direction it pulls us — is the path toward wholeness. The libido guides us toward our true north, and our capacity to recognize and follow the cardinal direction offered by our libido is our ticket to growth and fulfillment.

But what happens when the libido steers us in directions we can’t or don’t want to go?

It’s not uncommon to find that our inner life force compels us toward destinations that may not suit the desires of our ego. Perhaps we've spent our lives working toward a career in business, but our libidos long for something more creative, performative, or scholarly. Or maybe we're locked into a mundane daily routine in our hometowns, but our libido longs for freedom, adventure, and novelty. We can all relate to some version of this: a mismatch between our inner longings and our outer circumstances.

When this happens — when we have failed to heed the calls of our libido or life events have led us astray from our ideal path — we tend to suffer. In fact, the symptoms of depression — sadness, lack of energy, reduced motivation, lack of pleasure, hopelessness, etc. — are precisely those we might expect to emerge if we were drained of vital life force energies. Loss of libido often looks like a midlife crisis, in which we wake up and suddenly feel trapped or adrift and we wonder how the hell we got here.

Luckily, as explored so thoughtfully in this podcast episode by This Jungian Life, our libido is rarely pointing us in such a specific direction that we can’t honor its wishes meaningfully in our current circumstances. Our true north is a continent, not a city. It is a way of life, rather than a specific career. We generally do not need to blow up our lives to move toward wholeness.

So, how do you know if you’re moving in the right direction?

Check your energy levels. Are you feeling... Inspired? Energized? Present? Purpose-driven? Then you’re probably riding the current of libidinal energy toward its chosen path.

But if you’re feeling on the verge (or in the midst) of a mid-life crisis, or you’re feeling drained, apathetic, or lacking motivation, it would be wise to engage in some deeper exploration. Set aside your ego and what it’s dictating that you should want or should achieve. Seek within yourself to greet and welcome the true desires of your unconscious.

The libido — like all of the unconscious — communicates in symbols outside of conscious awareness. To uncover this hidden material, we tune into our dreams, fantasies, spontaneous memories, or creative imaginings. We look for archetypes — images and themes that are part of our collective unconscious (such as familiar characters like the mother, the trickster, or the sage) — that recur across unconscious experiences. We look for meaning in synchronicities, such as when you desperately want to write a book and find yourself seated at a dinner party beside a successful author. We heed the external signs and signals the world seems to be offering, and pay double attention to our own inner, unconscious material.

Carl Jung spent over a decade plumbing the depths of his unconscious (you can read more on this in The Red Book). In order to do so, he had to cast off notions of what were acceptable or unacceptable impulses, thoughts, or desires, and fully open himself to the entirety of his humanity. He underwent this process on the heels of his own mid-life crisis (of sorts), following a break with his mentor (Freud) in order to pursue his own theories and interests.

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A modern version of Jung’s experimentation to meet the unconscious is captured by the idea of shadow integration, in which we discover and welcome the cast off and rejected characteristics and desires within us. The best way to do this is with a Jungian analyst, but any form of psychotherapy can assist us in recognizing and articulating our most authentic desires and energies.

Heeding the wisdom of our libidos isn't easy. It takes time, attention, and a willingness to let internal messages — rather than external pressures — guide our choices. But the payoff can't be beat! The promise, according to Jung, is the joy of living in the flow of life, on the path we are destined to follow, moving toward our most whole, actualized, individuated selves.

To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.