Getting Unconscious – Is It Worth It?

If you ask me what my greatest skill is, it’s avoidance or getting unconscious or sticking my head in the sand. I’m a star at it. I developed the skill as a young girl when I didn’t like what was going on in my world. It started with reading in which I would bury my nose in a book and ignore the outside world. When things got uncomfortable, I went into a book.

Food, alcohol, gossip, complaining, feeling sorry for myself…

As I got older, getting unconscious was a bit harder. Food worked well. Sometimes I used alcohol, gossip, complaining, feeling sorry for myself, etc. I think you get the picture. The truth is that being unconscious doesn’t hurt. It’s easy, and it’s mostly painless. However, it’s what we do to get unconscious that ultimately hurts us. We get addicted or we get sick or we lose out on relationships or we miss out on life.

Most of my clients at one point or another say, “But being conscious really hurts sometimes. Why would I want to do that?” And that makes sense. I get it. Being conscious means facing the world, facing our feelings no matter how painful, facing endings and beginnings and seeing the flaws of others. Being conscious hurts.

But . . . being conscious also feels REALLY good. Being aware of yourself, your feelings, what you want, and the beauty of life feels really, really good. You don’t have to work so hard to get unconscious because you don’t need to be there. You’ve faced it all…your fears, your emotions, your thoughts, and your desires. You are suddenly awake and you know that you can face whatever comes your way. Suddenly you don’t need food or drugs or alcohol or mindlessness in order to get through your day.

So how do you get conscious?

So how do you get conscious? Start by recognizing the pattern of getting unconscious. Then stop for just a second and ask yourself what you are feeling or thinking in that moment. Just look at your thought process and do it without judgment. Are you being honest with yourself? Do you need to face some hard truths? The key to consciousness is to learn how to think about your thoughts and then change them if necessary.

Many of my clients keep a consciousness journal in which they check in with themselves when they start to get unconscious. They ask themselves why they are hiding, what they need to do to face their fears, and what they will need to do to get conscious and take care of themselves. None of them have regretted getting conscious. I don’t regret it and you won’t either. Consider giving it a try and let me know how you do.

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC