One way in which the subconscious aspects of ourselves can make their presence known is in little gestures, which we often do not notice ourselves making. For instance, putting a hand to your mouth might mean “I am going to keep silent about this subject” or, alternatively, it might be comforting and indicate the thought of eating. How do we know which meaning it is? If we are able to notice the gesture, then allow it to continue, it often becomes clearer as it continues to completion.
If you find yourself scratching an itch on your arm it could mean you are uncomfortable about something you are thinking or a situation you are in. The old clichés are often informative, for instance “She’s uncomfortable in her own skin”. It might be that you feel your attention drifting and you need to be more grounded in your body. When the world doesn’t seem quite real, we say “I need to pinch myself, to check if I’m dreaming.” The first of these is caused by oversensitivity in the skin and the second by a lack of contact with the body. Somebody watching you cannot say which it is, but perhaps they can ask, what was that gesture? What do you think it means? They can make suggestions. If you reach to tuck your hair behind your ear, are you sweeping a thought behind you, feeling satisfied that it is finished? Or perhaps your hand wants to touch your temple, and try to pin down a thought? Or to cover your ear, to protect yourself from hearing something? It is as if the human mind has many layers. As experiences pile up on each other, some fall away, into the subconscious, to allow the conscious mind to focus on current events. The mind has an extraordinary capacity to forget for the time being, but not to lose the experiences which have formed it. There is a flowing quality to its layers, which can be reinvigorated by a particular stimulus, especially a smell or just the right physical, bodily sensation. It is possible to reactive a traumatic memory in this way, but just as possible to put yourself back into a pleasant, restorative memory. It is worth practising recalling something soothing and safe. Putting yourself deliberately into a good memory is done by recalling the bodily sensations, the five senses. Sometimes we need to pull ourselves out of bad memories, when they have a tendency to go round and round and blot out all the good things in life.
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I have written a few short articles for a local magazine about looking after your mental health, which are provided here. It seems to me that we need to pull together and share our skills and help each other. |