Psychology

Irrational and Rational Parts of your Brain

Your irrational brain usually wins the argument with the rational. Here's the way I look at it. This is probably not the best way to look at it, but here me out. Some of this may actually make as much sense to you as it does to me.

You've just read a creepy story about. . . . let's say. . . the basement. Your parents then call up the stairs, "Hey, can you go rotate the laundry in the basement for us?"

Then you say, "Sure," because you can't say no even though they state it as a question. It's like a trick question. You can only answer it one way.

Nonetheless now you have to go down into the basement after reading something creepy about a basement. For some of you, you're so rational it doesn't scare you, but then some of you like myself, are terrified.

Sometimes us scaredy cats like to try to rationalize it and make it not so scary saying things like the following:

It's okay there's nothing in the basement.

If it hasn't happened before, why would it happen now?

That story is fake and the origin probably isn't even in our town let alone this house.

If I can do it with people then I can certainly do it alone.

It's time to face your fears.

I have not said some of these, but others I probably have. As I am writing this now I am wondering, "What are we all going to do when we live on our own and have to go down there all the time?"

Although then again there are some towns where you can go to a place that you pay some money to have the laundry cleaned for you. Me? I'll probably do laundry the old fashioned way. Get some hot water get some soap and wash the clothes with a sponge. This isn't because of my fear as you probably have assumed. I just like doing things the old fashioned way. If I could I would use a type writer not a computer to write. Much more fun to me.

I have now strayed from the topic.

So these things you tell yourself to lessen the fear don't usually work, but do you know where they come from? Yes you probably do, but I'm going to tell you anyway. These thoughts come from the rational part of your brain, but sadly like most things there is an opposite. This opposite just so happens to be, for some people; too powerful for the rational part.

Now what exactly does the irrational part of your brain actually say? For me, not much, but for you, probably something.

Just because the irrational part doesn't say much for me that doesn't mean it doesn't still win. For me it almost always wins. Yeah I may still go into the basement, but I am the entire time, on edge.

The only reason I go down there is because my parents told me to and I can't tell them no or complain without upsetting them.

Now I don't really know what the irrational part of your brain says about what the rational part said, but I have a few guesses.

1.I don't know that for sure until I go down there.

2.It could have changed.

3.That doesn't mean anything.

4.Not necessarily.

5.What if I don't want to?

Another thing that could happen is that you could suddenly picture all the killers you've ever seen in all the horror movies you've watched in the last year or two-forgetting one or two most likely- and you're worried even though it's fictional that those killers are going to appear in your basement.

My brain usually does the last thing that doesn't have a number.

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