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Mar
09
2014

Unconscious Minds and Fairy Tales by Mary Anne Lloyd

RiskI was perusing a poster in the office about Life, and one of the suggestions is to “become friends with uncertainty.”  So I began to ask people what they thought about that, and all but one had some sort of anxiety reaction to the mere thought of uncertainty! So I thought, “Where did that reaction come from, because I have to admit, I had the same initial reaction!

Why is it? When something happens that causes us uncertainty, human creatures usually opt for anxiety and the worst case scenario?

Our unconscious minds are marvelous.  They try to keep us safe at all costs, and sometimes they work overtime. I think that there was a time when it was really important for us to err on the side of concluding there was danger afoot. If we missed seeing some poisonous plant in our food, or a dangerous spider inside our cave, it was a life or death situation. We only got one chance. There were no hospitals or poison control numbers to call. And if we failed to notice a stealthy animal stalking us, there was no bear spray or cell phone to get us out of trouble. We could have as many false alarms as we wanted, but we really could not afford any misses.

So our unconscious minds were usually letting us know, “Be careful! You’d better watch out! There is something bad out there!”

And just think what we learned as young kids singing fairy tales! Don’t sit on any walls, because you’ll fall off and break into pieces. That hill? Forget it. The both of you will come tumbling down and someone will get a concussion. Evil queens are out and about. And you never know what might be in that apple.

Luckily, there are magic wands and wonderful princes and helpful dwarves in the mix. White horses and Fairy Godmothers and pumpkins that turn into chariots. Thankfully, our very imaginative unconscious minds get a good dose of happy endings as well.

But, our unconscious minds are still doing their best to keep us safe from all those scary things out there. Realistically, we have a few more resources to help us out these days. We have hospitals and cell phones and relaxation, which increases our vigilance. We have ourselves and many ways to move forth and discover. If we make a wrong turn, we learn along the way, and then pull out our mind’s GPS.

So when our unconscious minds are saying, “Whoa! That’s uncertainty – look out!”  Maybe we can be thankful because our unconscious minds always have our backs, but also mindful that we’re out of the cave and we have resources.

Maybe uncertainty can be safe.  And who knows, maybe someday we human creatures may even find that the tingling that starts when we hear the word “uncertainty” is not anxiety after all.  Maybe it’s really (who would have thought!)  Maybe what we’re feeling is …….excitement!

Tags: emotions, fear, Mary Anne Lloyd, safety, self-growth, stress, uncertainty, unconscious mind
Posted in holding power, Learning to Adapt, managing emotions, Self Growth | 2 Comments »

Mar
09
2014

A Helpful Unconscious Mind by Mary Anne Lloyd

moving forward in lifePatricia had a very moving experience with her unconscious mind.  She was going about her work day when she was seized with a ferocious anxiety attack.  She felt she couldn’t breathe and was lightheaded.  The anxious feeling was overwhelming and she felt that something was terribly wrong.  She imagined she must be having a heart attack.  Panicking, she went immediately to her supervisor and told him what was happening. They decided that she should leave work at that moment and seek help.

Patricia went directly to her physician who calmed her down and checked everything out.  There was nothing “physically” out of order.  After all was said and done, her doctor assured her that she was experiencing anxiety.

But why?  There was nothing going on in particular, and certainly nothing that could prompt such a dramatic reaction both physically and emotionally.  It was a mystery, and a scary one.  With no explanation, could it happen again randomly?  Patricia was anxious with anticipation, which increased her nervousness overall.  Her physician gave her medication in case her anxiety came up again.

Patricia scheduled a session to deal with her experience and fear of future episodes.  Interestingly, she found herself immediately speaking about her sister and her very sad and slightly mysterious passing. She had never really spoken about her before or about what had happened and how difficult it was for Patricia to experience.

The moving moment occurred when she realized that her anxiety attack happened exactly one year after her sister’s death.  She had not consciously remembered the date.  But her unconscious mind remembered and reminded her that it was an experience that needed to be dealt with in some important way.  So Patricia talked and grieved and did what she needed to do. She was thankful for the unconscious prompting that led her to the healing that had waited for a year, and she was thankful that her unconscious mind decided that the time had come to deal with a very difficult situation.

We may forget anniversary dates consciously, but our unconscious minds will usually remind us if it is important for us to remember. If we have a seemingly random anxiety experience, it’s often a good plan to try to remember what was going on the previous year. There could be a connection.

Tags: anxiety attack, deal, emotions, fear, grief, heart, Mary Anne Lloyd, nervousness, self-growth, unconscious mind
Posted in Learning to Adapt, managing emotions, Self Growth, transitions | No Comments »

Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

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About Beverley

Beverley Pugh has international experience in Individual, Marital and Family Therapist services. Areas of practice include counselling in: individual, couples, family, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, pain management, multicultural, workplace and others.

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V7T 1B8
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Disclaimer: The information presented on this site about various psychological conditions, is of a general nature and is not a substitute for an assessment by a competent therapist and/or medical professional. If you believe that you or an important person in your life is in need of an intervention please seek qualified help as soon as possible.

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