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People’s minds may say seem to be straightforward, logic-driven spaces, if you go by their conversations, for instance, but that’s far from the truth.

Actually, it’s a lot darker in there. Picture a spotlight in a cave. That’s the area we call the conscious part of the brain. This place is reserved for rational thinking and for cleaning up our thoughts in a systematic manner.

But most of what’s inside our minds remains far from our consciousness, as it turns out. Our unconscious zones contain our seemingly disavowed thoughts and feelings, which the conscious zone isn’t in touch with.

And what might that be? Well, there is an impressive record in there of pretty much everything we’ve seen and felt at different points in our lives. While a lot of these memories may seem dormant, some of them do resurface randomly.

These constitute a background of hum and static – things that make us anxious and can’t find a place in our more ordered thoughts. Also on this list are anger and even hurt feelings that we haven’t digested, and sadness we haven’t dared to feel.

How to keep the darkness at bay then?

The answer lies in focussing on our consciousness, that spotlight in our minds that will help us feel less frightened and intimidated by what lurks inside our heads.