Worried Mind
A common refrain around here when something seems “wrong” or “weird” is, “should I worry about it?”. My favorite answer is, “will it help?”. Will it? Of course it will. But how? What is the purpose of obsessive thought? Another great term that addresses a similar quality of our conscious life is “monkey mind”, arising from Buddhist traditions. An apt way to describe the ever-active, discursive and wild nature of our waking life, at least when we’re not specifically engaged in focused work, thought or play.
Usually worry has little practical or pragmatic value. It tends to lead in painful circles, creating in its a wake tension, unrest, confusion, and anxiety, interrupting sleep and relationship. Nothing seems to actually be solved or deeply addressed in this kind of thought. So why do we do it? And better yet, how can we pull ourselves out of this quicksand trap of obsession?
From a psychoanalytic perspective the obsessive thought is a strategy of the ego to manage other internal experiences, mostly by keeping a level of distraction floating above the more central issues at hand. We are not stupid. There is a purpose. We fear the unknown, the unfolding process that is not in our control. We grasp for control. Obsession is as if it’s an answer, a “known”, something to grab onto. However odd it seems, we can prefer the familiar body experience of worry to the total unknown of what’s coming. Sometimes it is as if it is easier to worry than to really settle into ourselves and address the specific issues at hand, coming up with possible solutions and actions. Our internal sense of what must be done can be terrifying indeed.
Challenge: In a bout of worry, put your feet flat on the floor. Allow your attention to shift away from the front of the head, the seat of worry and monkey-ness, down to the breath. Notice the quality and type of breath that is present. Now gently encourage the breath to deepen and slow, become more fluid and rhythmic. Elongate and smooth out the in breaths and out breaths. Notice what changes take place in the mind and the body experience. Notice if there are other feelings, sensations or issues that arise as the worried mind settles a bit….the place to solve a problem is from a settled mind, one that can think methodically, slowly and creatively.