Fiction, Facts and, Mental Health
9th grade biology. A place where most people famously remember dissecting dead reptiles with their friends is a class that changed my entire views on life.
I remember the day - my teacher was a man in his 50’s with a grey head of hair and plaid button up that was tightly tucked into his slacks. He was one of those teachers that cared very deeply about his students but was also a stickler for the rules. He made us bring our textbooks to class EVERYDAY. I have always been a super polite and cheery student so most of my teachers really liked me despite my tendencies to have incomplete homework, fall asleep in class, and be 30 seconds -1 minutes late to pretty much every single class (and if you came in after the bell you could get a late slip and three of those equaled detention- thankfully I never got one of those). I was racing the bell from my locker lugging my textbook and barely making it through the threshold when the bell rang.
“Nice Save Ms. Green” He muttered as he closed the door behind me. I slid into the cold chair next to one of my friends who was already doodling on the sleek black tables with the eraser of her pencil. She smirked at me and slid me our group notebook (which was a notebook that 6 of us used to communicate, tell stories, and gossip because passing notes was no longer stealthy enough for our high school teachers). I felt a tinge of excitement - there was nothing better than hearing the 411 on my friends’ lives. I slid it underneath my textbook and just as I opened it up - my teacher called on me.
“Anna Green. We are talking about the scientific method. Did you do the reading?”
“Yes” I lied.
“Mhm. Then Please tell us what is the definition of a Fact?” He looked at me in that way that teachers do when they know you don’t know the answer and didn’t do the homework. But they see your potential and know you are capable of more.
It felt too easy - like a trap. “It is something that is true and has been proved to be absolutely true”.
Long story short - I was wrong (only slightly though). The definition of a Fact (scientifically speaking) is an observation that is accepted as true until proven otherwise. I can remember him going into it and interviewing this new lesson within the scientific method - and his emphasis on the fact that facts were not definite, were not concrete, and were in fact adaptable, changeable, and misunderstood.
My 15 year old self was shell shocked! My mind devoured this lesson (as it does with any new information I want to learn). All of a sudden I could see how this played a role in every area of life. And my mindset and actions changed significantly (No my timing to class did not change). But the way I looked at life - this new way of looking at facts changed how I saw myself and my life.
There were no facts about me or people in general because people constantly changed and could change. From that point on there was nothing anyone could tell me about myself or my future regardless of what I was looking at in front of me. I felt anything was possible..
A fact is ONLY a fact if it is tested and ACCEPTED as a fact. There’s always another way - another test - another theory. It’s what propelled me forward. The facts I told myself were filled with success and big ambitious dreams. But I realized something the other day.
The facts I had about myself back then changed and shifted when I got pregnant. The facts I accepted and operated my life from were hard, cold, and filled with dread. I started believing “facts” that other people told and accepted other’s opinions as facts for how my life would turn out.
I forgot that facts were changeable. Those facts had to be accepted to be true and only until proven otherwise. The thing is that we subconsciously tie ourselves to Facts because our egos love concrete answers - love when things stay the same because it means safety. However, attaching ourselves to facts especially after life changing situations, hard times, or emotional/physical threats. It clings EXTRA hard to forming facts based on the situation.
The truth of the matter is that facts influence our whole life. What we choose to believe about ourselves and the world can has MAJOR influences on our mental health. One of the most common things I see in others (and sometimes myself) is that when someone is really struggling with Anxiety they are believing and accepting facts that make them distrust themselves, abandon themselves, and stay disconnected from life. Even the physical reactions to mental health challenges are based on the beliefs we have - even if it’s unconsciously caused. Our bodies believe things we aren’t even consciously thinking about. Because our body still believes this thing is a threat (even if its not). Our mind and body can still be stuck in the past and believe that certain dangers are still active - keeping us in fight or flight.
The list goes on.
So if you have been in a slump or really just struggling with that feeling that your desires “aren’t possible”. I want you to take a look back at the facts you’ve been told, you’ve perhaps misunderstood, or what you are accepting as facts. What facts is your mind using to support the limiting beliefs? And how has those facts impacted your behavior/actions?
Sit down for 5 minutes this week and journal about this. Write down a problem/block you feel kind of stuck in right now. And list down the “facts” about the situation or that are related to this problem. To find out these facts - write down what could be the problem/why do you believe this thing isn’t working out?
After you gave a list of 10 facts related to this problem you’re experiencing. Spend the rest of the week deciding what you are no longer accepting/believing about your facts. What are different ways you can test these facts again and show your brain/body a different outcome.
How can you rewrite the fact?
Until next time fishes! Stay Messy!
P.S- If you want help rewriting those facts, uncovering which facts are holding you back, and to just change your life in general. Join me in my 1:1 12 week program - Intuitive Therapy.
