Sigmund Freud’s Model of the Mind
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, believed that most of what drives you (your experiences in life, emotions, impulses and memories) are not part of the conscious mind. They exist deep in the unconscious mind and operate as memories, thoughts, feelings and mental processes.
Freud used the analogy of an iceberg to describe three areas he believed made up the human mind: the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious. He called this model the Topographical model.
THE CONSCIOUS MIND
The tip of the iceberg represents the conscious mind. This area of the mind looks after logical and intellectual thought processes. It’s all that you are aware of at any given time. It also looks after the mental processes in sensations that enter your awareness such as getting food when you feel hungry or reaching for a blanket when you feel cold.
THE PRE-CONSCIOUS MIND
The pre-conscious mind is just below the level of consciousness and includes things you associate with, such as the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that grandma used to make when you were a kid.
Think of it as a waiting area in your mind where your memories thoughts and feelings will linger until they move into conscious awareness.
THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND
The unconscious mind is represented by the base of the iceberg, and it stores every experience you’ve had – along with the associated feelings and emotions. It is also the seat of your deepest beliefs and habits, and the centre that controls all the systems and responses of your body. It also stores traumatic events or memories that are too disturbing to acknowledge.
Most of what happens in the unconscious impacts your behaviour and Freud believed that repressed memories are what’s in the unconscious mind.
REPRESSION
Repression is a term used to describe when you push unpleasant feelings memories or urges into your unconscious mind. Some examples include childhood abuse, phobias related to animal attacks, snakes, spiders etc. Also included are beliefs and behaviours related to cultural, social and familial “norms”.
Repression is a defence mechanism behaviour people use to separate themselves from unpleasant events, actions or thoughts. Freud believed that much of what happened to you as a child stays in your unconscious mind and exerts great influence over you as an adult.
By understanding the connection between past and present, a new perspective can be gained. That’s where hypnotherapy comes in.
CONCLUSION
Clinical Hypnotherapy is a natural, relaxing, effective approach that enlists the power of your own mind and body to heal and make changes.
Hypnosis techniques quiet the thinking and chattering part of your brain and relax the physical body. This facilitates access to the powerful, deeper unconscious mind, which makes up about 90% of the human brain.
From a maintenance standpoint, you may want to visit our unconscious mind from time to time – to run a scan for viruses, delete old files, and update some old, unproductive programming.
Hypnotherapy helps you do that.
If you would like to find out more, I invite you to connect with me for a free 30 minute conversation. Simply click on the button below.