Shifting our patients’ relationship with thoughts and feelings from unhealthy to healthy

In counseling, I often observe the following patterns in our patients around their relationship with thoughts and feelings.

1. Subconscious and reactive to internal and external thoughts of others. This may lead to unhealthy OCD features with various themes depending on the content of those thoughts.

2. Subconscious and reactive to their feelings and the feelings of others. These may lead to impulsivity, excessive drama, and relational issues.

3. Conscious, deliberate, and mindful with internal and external thoughts, leading to more meaningful and effective actions.

4. Conscious, deliberate, and mindful with their feelings and the feelings of others, leading to more meaningful and effective actions.

Counseling is often about introducing folks to more of the latter two experiences, in order to regain balance and make No.1 and No.2 more reliable over time.