Wise Mind
Wise Mind: What Is It?
There are times in life when we may act impulsively, making rash decisions and feeling highly emotional with little consideration for the consequences of these actions. Maybe you spend a large amount of money when feeling down or are quick to yell at your partner when angry. On the flip side, there are times in life when people may be thinking so logically that they forget about other people’s (and perhaps their own) feelings. When thinking this way, they may come across cold. Then there is the middle ground - tuning into our feelings and values yet choosing to respond to them in a rational way. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers a way to conceptualise these mind states. In DBT they refer to these as ‘The 3 States of Mind’.
The 3 States of Mind
DBT invites us to consider that our minds tend to be in one of three states.
Emotional Mind: A person uses their emotional mind when their feelings seem to control their behaviour. While the emotional mind can provide us with passion, values, and love, it can also cause us to act rashly without regard for long-term consequences.
Logical Mind: The logical mind is used when people approach a situation intellectually. They use facts, figures, and reason to guide behaviour. There are benefits to this – it is helpful when making important decisions, drawing up budgets, doing taxes, etc. However, when using the logical mind, values and feelings are not important. Therefore, it is less helpful when deciding on matters of the heart and during times when considering other people’s emotions is important.
Wise Mind: The wise mind refers to the balance between the logical and emotional minds. Drawing on our intuition and gut feeling, Wise Mind teaches us to validate our feelings, whilst equally considering context, facts, and long-term consequences of our actions BEFORE we act.
Let’s go through an example.
You see a sign at a shelter saying that they have 88 kittens that need to be urgently adopted. Using your emotional mind, you may feel for these kittens and want to adopt all of them. Considering your logical mind, you may consider that you do not have the time nor money to look after them properly. Using your wise mind, you may share this post on Facebook and contact some of your friends who you know are wanting to adopt a kitten. This way, you are helping the kittens without having your house and life overrun by them!
Consider how you can approach situations today with your Wise Mind.
If you are struggling and would like further support, please contact the friendly team at Progressive Psychology on 0477 798 932 to make an appointment with one of our highly skilled psychologists today.
Chelsie Priestley is a Provisional Psychologist at Progressive Psychology