How consciousness takes us back to our childhood fears and what to do about it
Imagine that you are an adult with life of experience, skills and knowledge. But when stressed, suddenly the world seems to be collapsing, and you catch yourself acting like a child. Asking for help, feeling helpless, or even irritable. It's not an accident. It's a regression or a return to childish behaviours. And this mechanism, deeply embedded in our subconscious, can affect any decision you make, especially when something important is at stake.
Along with regression, our brains use perceptual filters that are formed from childhood experiences. Everything that happens in your life goes through this filter – and what doesn't match your beliefs simply doesn't get your attention.
A simple example: if you have a belief that ‘the world is dangerous,’ you will see threats where there may not be any. If you grew up with the idea that ‘money is hard to come by’, every time someone talks about easy money, your brain will ignore that information or perceive it as false.
Your filter is not just a collection of random thoughts. It is a system that controls your life, dictating how to react to what happens and what decisions to make. When you want something badly, like a new car, your filter starts to adjust to that desire – you start seeing cars of that model everywhere.
Why do we see the world differently?
What happens to you when you are stressed?
Regression is the brain's unconscious response to stressful situations. When the level of stress exceeds the threshold at which we can rationally assess the situation, the brain automatically activates old programs laid down in childhood. Evolutionarily, this is justified: a child learns to survive in dangerous conditions, and these strategies are stored in our subconscious, even if they have long since lost their relevance.
When we are faced with high emotional stress, our brain reverts to the behaviours that helped us survive at an early age. You may think you are making decisions based on adult experience, but in fact your actions are dictated by the child inside you. The higher the stress, the more likely you are to revert to that childlike state.
Your behaviour in this moment is based on the automatic thought ‘If I refuse, there will be conflict and I will not be able to defend myself’. This thought triggers an emotion – sadness, fear or depression. Eventually, your body reacts too: perhaps there are tears or a feeling of tension in your stomach. And underneath this automatic thought is a basic belief from childhood – that you are helpless in the face of conflict.
Imagine this situation: your boss again assigns you additional work that is not your responsibility. You realise that this is unfair, but for some reason you cannot refuse. Why does your filter allow this to pass? Most likely, you are avoiding conflict because as a child you developed a strategy to be nice and comfortable so that you don't lose love or attention.
Example of filter operation
Once you realise the workings of your filter, you can start cleaning it.
You can clean your filter with our Reself service.
One of the main steps to getting out of a vicious cycle is awareness. Think about what automatic thoughts pop up in your mind when things go wrong? What emotions arise in response to stressful situations? Keeping track of these moments will help you understand how filters are affecting your life.
How do you see your filter and start cleaning it?
How is the regression activated?
Our decisions are strongly influenced by the environment in which we find ourselves. For example, when you are safe – in a cosy room or your favourite café – you make more rational decisions. But imagine you are in a wild forest and there is a tiger in front of you. In such a state, you will not look for creative solutions – you will just try to survive.
This is also how stress works. In a stressful situation, your perception of the world changes, and your brain acts as if it is facing a real threat to your life. Even if in fact you just missed a report or had a fight with a loved one, your brain sees it as a ‘tiger’ and switches on its defence mechanisms.
When you learn to become aware of your filters and work with them, changes will begin to happen in all areas of your life. It's not that the world will change around you – you'll just start to see it differently. Instead of threats – opportunities, instead of conflicts – chances for dialogue, instead of failures – lessons for growth.
Why does clearing your filter lead to positive changes in your life?
Filter cleansing is a process that allows you to stop living in the captivity of childish beliefs and start acting from adult, conscious experience. Then, even the greatest stress will not be able to return you to the childish state of helplessness.
The Reself service is the best format for dealing with stress regression
Having analysed various techniques and formats of work, I realised that personal coaching sessions are best suited to working with regression. They allow:
- Reduce regression
- Increase awareness
- See ineffective patterns of behaviour
Sign up for a coaching session at a 50% discount and get access to an online test to help identify your filter distortions
You'll take an online test on your own to help you understand what's stopping you from getting from point A to point B. Also:
Watch the video, what problems the diagnostic test solves
- Learn what gets in the way of building healthy relationships
- Understand how to find and fulfil yourself
- Find out why you are not achieving your desired goals
- See how behaviours are preventing you from earning more money
- Understand your individual mental and character traits that influence how you make important decisions in life
Together with the coach, you will deconstruct the results of the test, as well as:
Personal coaching session at Zoom
- Work through the deep–seated beliefs that prevent you from being healthy, happy, having strong relationships, fulfilling yourself in your business and earning well
- Understand what negative underlying beliefs, habits, behaviour patterns and psychological limitations are poisoning your life