A short explanation of the major parts of the psyche for people who are confused:

Persona: An image/mask you wear in public in order to impose a certain image about yourself.

Ego: The "I" you like and identify with the most. The center of your consciousness.

Anima/Animus: Anima is the unconscious/inner feminine side of a male, while the Animus is the unconscious/inner masculine side of a female.

Shadow: Dark side of someone's personality. Unknown side/area hidden behind/under the ego that the ego does not identify with/rejects.

The Self: The unification of both the unconscious and conscious sides of the human psyche and represents the psyche as a whole.

Please note that no parts of the psyche is absolutely good or bad. The shadow may be the dark side of a person's personality and consist of one's fears and insecurities, but the shadow is vital in helping people discover their inner world.

Everyone has different personas on a daily basis. When you go to school you put on the persona of a student. When you go to work you put on the persona of an employee. However it's important to know when to set a limit, as if your persona becomes excessive, then you may

begin to lose yourself and your authentic personality may become practically unrecognizable.

Similarly, it's important to do the same for your ego. People may often believe ego is a bad thing, but similar to persona, its only bad when you become obsessed with a particular

trait of yourself that you identify with or like. For example, if you think "I am beautiful", then that's who you identify as the most. But if you become obsessed with the idea that you are beautiful then you may become egoistic, or narcissistic.

Also please note that the Ego does not represent your true self. Your true self may only be discovered when you learn to overcome your shadow and embrace all parts of your psyche.