Themes From The Therapy Room – Episode 1 – A Discussion About The Mind

A Discussion About The Mind

In my new vlog series ‘Themes From The Therapy Room’, I’m dedicating the first episode to be a discussion about the mind.

You might wonder why it is worthwhile starting at that point and the answer is simple. When you break it down, all of our psychological distress is because of our relationship with the mind.

We talk about the mind as though it is a real thing. Even in the language we use, we talk about things being ‘on’ our mind, or something ‘coming to’ mind.

But really, what is the mind? This is definitely something to talk about.

The Model of the Mind – thanks to Mark Manson

In his book ‘Everything Is F**ked‘, Mark Manson talks about his model of the mind in chapter 2.

He points out that there are two minds really going on; one is the thinking mind and the second is the feeling/emotional mind.

The thinking mind is the mind that makes plans, judges good and bad, thinks logically and rationally, and is the mind that is aware of the problem existing.

The emotional/feeling mind is the oldest mind. It is the one you’re born with and it is responsible for many of the behaviours we have.

From a hypnotherapist perspective, the thinking mind is the conscious mind whereas the feeling mind is the unconscious mind.

Who Drives The Bus?

To use a metaphor here, your feeling/emotional mind is the mind that is really ‘driving the bus’.

We might think that the thinking mind would be the one driving the bus, but at best, it is in the passenger seat holding the map.

To add to this, the feeling mind is very good at persuading the thinking mind into doing things.

The reality is that your ‘mind’ is not always your friend, and will sometimes make you do habits and behaviours that your thinking mind might determine are not best for you.

All those habits that you keep doing that work against who you want to be… guess which mind is doing that? That’s right – the feeling mind is the guilty party here.

Having a discussion with your mind

This is why hypnotherapy is so effective in making behavioural change. Instead of traditional therapy that talks to the thinking mind, hypnotherapy is great for digging into the unconscious and speaking directly to that emotional/feeling mind.

When you’re next engaging in a behaviour that doesn’t serve you, stop for a moment and ask yourself which mind is driving the bus here?

Being aware of this may not stop it, but can go a long way in making the first step towards change.