Your emotions are like a fog in your mind. This fog keeps people from thinking clearly and from seeing what’s really going on inside of themselves. Don’t worry – everyone experiences this phenomenon.
For a minute, just imagine that you are surrounded by fog and you’re trying to find something. You can’t see very far in front of you. Your vision is extremely limited and your range is very narrow – you can’t see far off in any given direction. That’s how it is inside a person’s mind because of their emotions. Emotion blocks our view.
This is completely natural, and it is one of the main reasons why therapy is such a powerful tool! We aren’t able to see past our own fog of emotions, but others aren’t blinded by our fog. This is why it’s so obvious what your best friend should be doing about their love life, or their dating behavior, or their relationship with their parents, or any other situation in their life! You aren’t blinded by their emotional fog and you can see the whole situation clearly.
Would you believe that most therapists have their own therapist? At first glance, it seems pretty ridiculous – if these people were any good at psychology, then they wouldn’t need someone else. They should just be able to fix themselves, right? Wrong. Everyone is a victim of this fog phenomenon. Even the most well-known therapists can’t see their own thoughts and feelings. Knowing how our minds work just isn’t enough.
Written by Brad Messenger, LMSW.