Three States of Mind: Reasonable Mind, Emotion Mind, and Wise Mind

Have you ever wondered why people make poor decisions over and over again, even when they know there will certainly be a negative outcome? Often times we are ruled by certain states of our mind without having the knowledge or tools to cope with distressing emotions, thoughts, and compulsive behavioral patterns. DBT therapy teaches clients to learn to distinguish between different parts of the thought and emotion process before making decisions that could potentially be harmful and compulsive. The three states of mind include: reasonable mind, emotion mind, and wise mind.

Reasonable mind is the state of mind that is rational. Reasonable mind is needed for tasks such as, planning, evaluating, solving logical problems, balancing a checkbook, and so forth. Reasonable mind is necessary, but can prove to be detrimental if one stays stuck in purely logical thinking patterns. If emotions are overlooked when making important decisions, such as, choosing a place to live, applying to colleges, and finding a job then one could potentially settle and end up unhappy with their decision.

Emotion mind is the state of mind that is hot and emotion ruled. When one is in their emotion mind, logic is overlooked and behaviors are purely based on the state of how one feels. In this state of mind emotions are in charge and impulsive decisions often follow. Emotions are very powerful motivators for behaviors, but decisions based on negative emotions without thinking about the logical consequences can prove to be detrimental.

When emotions are strong and the urges to act on them are also strong, behavioral patterns are typically out of sync with one’s core values.

Wise mind is the state of mind in which one can synthesize the reasonable mind and emotion mind to make a decision that is based on intuition. Wise mind decisions require that one can learn to trust their intuitive state of mind, learn to utilize mindfulness skills to get into a wise mind state before acting and/or reacting, and learn to experience a state of peace rather than basing decisions on surface experiences.

“Wise mind is a deep, centered place where a person knows something very clearly. Wise mind is receptive and open. It accepts rather than judges.  It is patient rather than impatient” (Safer, Telch, & Chen 2009).

If you are struggling with getting to know your wise mind and feel that you are making decisions that are harming you more than helping, please contact our office to schedule an appointment with one of our trained therapist. At Rehabilitative Health Services we offer both individual and group DBT therapy to ensure that the needs of our clients are being met. Contact our office at 208-523-5319 to schedule your appointment.

Stephanie Shirley, LMSW

Sources

Safer, L. S., Christy, F. T., & Eunice Y. C. (2009). Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Binge Eating and Bulimia. New York, NY: Guilford Publishing, Inc.