As I reflect on the many days that have passed in 2021, a recurring idea floats into mind. I believe that a grave danger to mental health and one’s overall sense of self is the desire to understand everything. The attempt to understand and logic out the reasoning behind past actions or current feelings erases the Soul’s presence. But, this response is conditioned – look at the curriculum that schools indoctrinate their students with: everything can be boiled down to a single answer. This pursuit to the single reason behind doing is the problem. This is where we encounter the trappings of the mind.
The mind not only forces us to overanalyze all aspects of our being, but it also thwarts presence. Have you ever been enjoying yourself, maybe hanging out with a friend or loved one, and then out of nowhere, BAM, comes an intrusive thought. This is one of the scariest, if not most unsettling, things to experience, especially if the thought challenges your self-beliefs.
The mind’s response to these thoughts is fear based. What you are thinking clashes with your entirety which yields extreme panic. There is enough existential dread without delving into our own complexities, but the reason we are ill-equipped to engage with these unwanted thoughts is because we never talk about them.
Everyone has unwanted thoughts. We cannot escape them, however, we can become desensitized to them. It all depends on our response. It is completely normal for one’s initial reaction to a thought that conflicts with selfhood to be panicked. However, identifying them and affirming that you are not your thoughts is the place where freedom starts.
This doesn’t happen overnight, but daily practice builds one’s confidence back up. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy teaches this: think of a thought, then say it out loud. An example of a thought could be, “I am an awful person”. ACT would tell you to build up a dialogue that goes like this.
Self: “I am an awful person”
Self: “I am having the thought that I am an awful person”
Self: “I notice that I am having the thought that I am an awful person”
This creates space between the Self and the thought which introduces control that often feels stripped from us in moments of panic.
Mental health journeys are non-linear, and sometimes healing doesn’t always look like the sun rising.
Be good to you. You deserve it.
Welcome to My Mind 