The User's Guide to the Human Mind: Why Our Brains Make Us Unhappy, Anxious, and Neurotic and What We Can Do about It

218 Pages·2011·3.06 MB·English

by  Shawn T. Smith PsyD

“You’ve been using the tool between your ears your whole life, but how often
have you considered what it is and what it is good for? No user’s manual came
with it, but this book helps make up for that shipping mistake. You would not
use your dishwasher without cracking the manual. Come on. Time to take a
look!”
— Steven C. Hayes, PhD, Foundation Professor of Psychology at
the University of Nevada and author of Get Out of Your Mind
and Into Your Life

The User’s Guide
Why Our Brains Make Us
Unhappy, Anxious, and Neurotic
and What We Can Do about It
SHAWN T. SMITH, P D
sy
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the
subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or
counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2011 by Shawn T. Smith
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
Cover design by Amy Shoup; Text design by Tracy Marie Carlson;
Acquired by Melissa Kirk; Edited by Jean Blomquist
All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Shawn T., 1967-
The user’s guide to the human mind : why our brains make us unhappy, anxious, and
neurotic and what we can do about it / Shawn T. Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60882-052-8 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-60882-053-5 (pdf e-book)
1. Psychology. 2. Emotions. 3. Reason. 4. Brain. I. Title.
BF121.S59 2011
152.4--dc23
2011027865
For Tracy and Jordan

Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
* What This Book Is About
Part 1
The Worry Machine
1
Protection at a Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
* Luke’s Struggle * My Mind, My Bodyguard * The Argument
Trap * The Paradox of Thought Suppression
2
A Day in the Life of a Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
* What Is the Mind? * Why the Mind Worries * How the Mind
Speaks * Anxiety and Depression: Ancient Tools for Modern Times
* The Mind Is Always Rational, from a Certain Point of View
3
Letting the Mind Do Its Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
* From the Mind’s Point of View, Survival Matters Most * Thoughts Are
Not Facts * Observing Your Thoughts * Observing Your Emotions
The User’s Guide to the Human Mind
Part 2
Happiness Is Not Your Mind’s Job
4
How the Mind Uses History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
* How Penelope Lost Track of Her Values * The Past Is Not the
Problem * The Mind’s False Dilemmas
5
The Mind’s Skewed View and Biased Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
* What the Mind Fears and How It Responds * The Survival Value
of Biased Recall * How the Mind Makes Rules to Keep Us Safe
6
Values and Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
* Training the Mind to Tolerate the Pursuit of Values * The Higher Mind
* Finding Your Values * Control Your Life, Not Your Mind * The
Trap of Waiting for Thoughts and Feelings to Change * Take Your Mind
with You on the Road to Valued Living
Part 3
Four Ways Our Minds Coerce Us—
and What We Can Do About Them
7
That Was Then and This Is Then . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
* What Meg Doesn’t Know About Andy * Why Our Minds Rely
on History
vi
Contents
8
Trump Cards and Double Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
* Trump Cards * Responding to Trump Cards * Double Standards
* Staying Observant and Maintaining Distance
9
Pessimistic Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
* It Isn’t Pessimism— It’s Error Management * Pessimism: The Ancient
Cure for Modern Times * Living with a Pessimistic Mind
10
Quick Fixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
* How the Mind Competes with Itself * Breaking the Quick- Fix Habit
* Managing the Drive for Quick Fixes
Part 4
Mood, Lifestyle, and Psychological Flexibility
11
Welcome to Your State of Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
* Mallory’s Mood * Don’t Trust Every Mood You Meet
* My Mind Might Be Wrong * Opposite Action: Moving Toward
Values * To Medicate or Not to Medicate?
12
Mind the Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
* How Healthy Habits Insulate Us from the Mind * One Final Exercise:
Increasing Psychological Flexibility for a Lifetime
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
vii