The human mind is arguably the most complex thing in the known universe, but instead of simplifying and organizing our understanding of it, the field of psychology continues to flounder in charting a clear course for us to follow.
I didn’t know that when my love affair with psychology started. Ever since I was a small child, I had a boundless curiosity and passion for the mind, emotions, relationships, and solving people’s problems, and I knew beyond a doubt being a therapist was my one true calling.
This inborn imperative never wavered as I crested adulthood, so into the world of higher education I plunged, fully confident that enlightenment would soon be found. I sat in college for four years waiting for the answers, but the experience was like listening to the blind men describe an elephant, they each had a different piece, and no one was bringing it all together. Undeterred, I went to get more school, but even after another three years of counseling psychology education, I was still stumbling through a fog of siloed and disjointed knowledge when I was spit out into the therapist role.
Lacking a system of mind became an unbearable burden when I began specializing in eating disorders, and what had been a mild discombobulation turned into a full-fledged panic attack. My greatest despair ushered me into a whole new world of discovery in one pivotal moment, looking into the crying eyes of a mother whose 7-year old daughter was starving herself to death. The whole family was pleading for answers and solutions, and my therapy toolkit was terrifyingly inadequate.
At that instant, I realized the unignorable imperative to find better answers. Like Tom Hanks leaving his Castaway island in search of salvation, I wasn’t just going to stay here and die, so I set out upon the choppy waters of radical curiosity. This rendered a lens of open-mindedness through which I could hear client’s stories on a much deeper level, and before long, the passing ships of insight emerged from the fog.
I began to see there is a fundamental distribution of energy between self and others, and when that fulcrum is out of balance, loss of self-worth and self-care result. I saw a foundational link between the limited energy we have, how we ration it, and the psychological outcomes we render.
But what were the mechanisms behind limited energy, and what does energy distribution say about the mind’s system? That’s when dusty information from middle school science class popped into my head: it’s the first law of thermodynamics! I had completely overlooked how physics could yield answers to the mind because soft science makes such little use of hard science perspectives. By applying the laws of thermodynamics to psychology, a cogent system was brought forth, one that linked our minds with the larger universe from which we are made.
It’s an unorthodox union, this blending of hard and soft sciences, but it was a beacon of hope that guided countless clients toward health and happiness. I’ll never regret my infidelity with physics, or the pain and frustration that drove me to it, as it never dampened my passion for psychology, it just poured fuel on the fire.
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