I was sorta in the same boat until I dedicated. These "shadow figures" are probably enemy thoughtforms that were created to deter those with special gifts from advancing any further. Most of the time they just scare you with their presence but can attack and damage your soul in some cases if it continues, in worst cases may even cause you to faint if you're not strong enough.
This is really quite interesting because I've noticed a pattern. There was a xtian friend I use to talk to and after knowing her for some time I told her about my religion and gradually taught her about the fundamentals of Satanism, showed her articles and the egroups (which apparently threw her off) at the time. Anyway, one day she said she had a shadowman attack and it was for the first time ever and she said she was so scared. After that incident we started growing distant and eventually lose contact as she said I was making her "become detached to jewsus"
So I think that there are entities and curses that were meant to deter those with these gifts at some point from developing them any further, or those from straying from the enemy programs and finding knowledge they don't want you to have.
Then there are "Hat men/Men in black" which are probably certain kinds of rabbis who projected themselves from some where here or "there".
The main solution to this is to start working on protections, cleansing and banishing. As well as staying close to the gods (dedication). Then these things are literally just flies and you can overcome their attacks.