Our Inner Emotional Map
A common reason we go to therapy is to figure something out - to resolve something painful or uncomfortable and find a way forward, a way out and up and beyond where we are. Sometimes I think of therapy as a quest for a better inner map and the skills to navigate it.
Here's a bit of what some of the finest clinicians & research scientists in the fields of Interpersonal Neurobiology, Psychotherapy, and Attachment are saying about our inner emotional map when it comes to relationships, our brain and Mindfulness:
Our relationships, from birth and throughout our lifespan, are an essential part of the ongoing physical development of the brain.
The ways we learn to bond, to “attach” to our caregivers in the first 3 years of life, becomes our inner map, our attachment style(s), for relationships. Just like we had more than one caregiver, we can have more than one attachment style.
If our attachment styles aren’t working for us, we can begin change through:
Resolving trauma through therapy;
Exploring our attachment history to discover our attachment styles to gain awareness of their influence on our relationships, how we see and relate to ourselves, and how we operate in the world;
Practicing mindfulness techniques and meditation to promote an integrated brain which leads to an integrated mind and the development of “mindsight.”
What is Mindsight?
Quoting from the horse's mouth....http://www.drdansiegel.com/about/mindsight/
"Mindsight" is a term coined by Dr. Dan Siegel to describe our human capacity to perceive the mind of the self and others. It is a powerful lens through which we can understand our inner lives with more clarity, integrate the brain, and enhance our relationships with others. Mindsight is a kind of focused attention that allows us to see the internal workings of our own minds. It helps us get ourselves off of the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses. It lets us “name and tame” the emotions we are experiencing, rather than being overwhelmed by them.
Click on the link for more info and for a video of Dr. Siegel talking about mindsight.
Life can be an amazing adventure – sometimes we just need a little help with our inner map.
