What Is the Unconscious

Take our Can You Spot Defense Mechanisms?

Find a therapist near me

The subconscious can communicate through the body when it believes the conscious self need guidance.

In the world of Western medicine, the possibility of subconscious-based symptoms is largely ignored.

Easing issues like cough or shortness of breath is much easier when a patient is relaxed and confident.

We can notice our subconscious guiding us in small, everyday ways: drawing our attention to a favorite book when we need inspiration, to our pet when we are becoming annoyed or impatient, or to sunscreen before a day outside.

Even if you believe in the subconscious, you may miss this kind of guidance or dismiss it as coincidence. But once you notice how self-suggestion works—how your attention lands on exactly what you need—it becomes clear that these moments are not random. They are examples of the subconscious speaking through the body and the senses.

My patients’ subconscious often explain that they communicate through the body when their conscious selves need guidance, using everything from gut feelings to significant symptoms. If one signal fails to get our attention, the subconscious may try another or become more insistent.

Its messages can begin as quiet nudges like a sticky note on the refrigerator moving toward a feeling, action, or resource, then escalate into unmistakable warnings like using big flags or giant billboards that urge us to make wiser choices, care for ourselves, or confront unresolved problems.

It is at the flag and billboard stages—when symptoms become too big to ignore—that many people seek help. I’ve learned that guiding patients to healing requires listening carefully to both their conscious and subconscious expression. In my........

© Psychology Today