Understanding the Subconscious Mind
- Aug 8
- 9 min read
Have you ever wondered why some habits are so hard to break, even when you genuinely want to change them?
Why an experience from years ago can still bring up an emotional response today?
Or why you can consciously know something isn’t true, yet part of you still seems to believe it?
There is an incredible amount happening in our minds outside of our immediate conscious awareness. We form habits, react emotionally, recall memories, interpret our surroundings, and carry beliefs without deliberately thinking through every one of those processes.
We often use the term subconscious mind to describe mental activity that happens outside our immediate conscious awareness. “Subconscious” isn't a specific anatomical part of the brain, and psychologists may instead use terms such as unconscious processing, implicit memory, or automatic processing depending on what they're describing.
But for our purposes, “subconscious mind” is a useful way to talk about everything happening beneath the surface. And there is a lot happening in there!
1. More Happens on Autopilot Than You Realize
Imagine having to consciously think through every single thing you do throughout the day: Move right foot. Move left foot. Breathe in. Breathe out. Blink. Pick up coffee. Swallow.
You'd never get anything done.
Our brains become remarkably efficient at automating familiar behaviors. Once you've learned how to drive, type, brush your teeth, or navigate your own house, you don't need the same level of conscious attention you needed when you first learned.
Habits work this way, too.
You might automatically reach for your phone when you're bored, tense your shoulders when you're stressed, or grab a snack when you sit down to watch TV.
That automaticity is incredibly useful, until the automatic behavior is something you'd like to change.
2. The Subconscious Mind Processes Far More Than Reaches Your Conscious Awareness
The original claim you may have seen online is that the subconscious processes millions of bits of information per second, while the conscious mind can handle only a tiny fraction.
You'll see very specific numbers attached to this claim, but those numbers vary considerably depending on the source and what researchers are actually measuring. I don't think the exact number is the interesting part. The important part is this:
Your brain takes in and processes far more information than you consciously notice.
Think about sitting in a busy restaurant. There may be dozens of conversations happening, music playing, glasses clinking, servers moving around, different smells, lights, temperatures, and physical sensations. You're not consciously attending to every one of them. But then perhaps someone across the room says your name.
Suddenly, your attention shifts. Your brain was processing more of your environment than you were consciously aware of.
3. Your Imagination Can Create a Very Real Response
Try this. Imagine a warm chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven. Picture breaking it in half, feeling the warmth in your hands, smelling the chocolate, and taking that first soft, gooey bite.
Did you notice yourself salivate? Maybe you suddenly really want a cookie. There isn't actually a cookie in front of you. Yet your body may have responded to the idea of one.
Mental imagery can produce physiological and emotional responses, and research has shown overlap between some of the neural systems involved in imagining and perceiving experiences.
This is one reason imagery can be useful during hypnosis. We're using the mind's ability to respond to imagination, suggestion, expectation, and emotion.
4. Trying NOT to Think About Something Can Make You Think About It
Do not think about a purple elephant. Whatever you do, don't picture one.
How'd that go? You may have heard this explained as “the subconscious doesn't understand negatives.”
I use positive language in hypnotherapy for good reason, but scientifically, this statement needs a little nuance. Your brain obviously understands words such as don't, can't, and not.
The problem is that to understand “Don't think about a purple elephant,” your mind first has to represent the thing you're being told not to think about. Research into thought suppression has also found that deliberately trying not to think about something can sometimes make that thought more accessible. That's why instead of repeatedly focusing on: “I don't want to feel anxious,” we can direct attention toward:
“I feel calm and confident.”
We're giving the mind something to move toward, rather than continually rehearsing what we're trying to move away from.
5. The Past Can Still Feel Very Present
Another common hypnosis phrase is that “the subconscious has no concept of time.”
Taken literally, that isn't true. Logically, your brain knows that something that happened when you were eight isn't happening today. Emotionally, however, the distinction can feel very different.
Think about something embarrassing you did years ago. Does your body still react when you remember it? You might cringe. Your stomach might tighten. You may immediately feel shame or regret.
We can carry guilt, fear, embarrassment, or pain for years, continuing to punish ourselves for mistakes that have long since passed. The event is over, but the emotional association connected to it may still be very much alive.
6. Some Beliefs Started Before You Could Question Them
Children don't just learn colors, numbers, and how to tie their shoes. They're learning what the world means. We absorb messages about relationships, money, appearance, success, failure, morality, spirituality, safety, love, and who we're supposed to become.
Messages such as:
“Good girls don’t talk back.”
“You need a college degree to be successful.”
“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
“You'll only be happy if you get married and have children.”
“This is the only true religion.”
“There’s only one right way to live.”
Some of those beliefs may still feel completely right to you. Others may not.
As adults, we have something we didn't necessarily have when those beliefs first formed: the ability to consciously examine them.
As we begin to individuate, we can ask ourselves: Do I actually believe this?
Where did I learn this?, Does this belief still belong in my life?
7. Repetition Can Strengthen What We Learn
Think about how you learned your phone number as a child, multiplication tables, song lyrics, or the route to work. Repetition matters.
Repeated experiences can strengthen learning and make certain thoughts or behaviors increasingly familiar and automatic. This can work in our favor.
But repetition can also reinforce things we don't necessarily want to strengthen.
If you've told yourself “I'm terrible at this” hundreds of times, you've rehearsed that thought hundreds of times.
That doesn't mean repeating a positive affirmation three times magically erases it.
It does mean that what we repeatedly practice, thoughts and behaviors included, can become increasingly familiar.
8. Emotion Can Make an Experience Especially Powerful
Think about an ordinary Tuesday five years ago. You probably can't remember much about it. Now think about a major event from that same year; a wedding, death, breakup, graduation, frightening experience, birth, or incredible surprise. There may be details you can still remember vividly.
Emotion affects how memories are encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved.
That doesn't mean emotional memories are always accurate. In fact, memory is reconstructive rather than a perfect recording. But emotionally significant experiences can become especially influential. And importantly, what feels significant is different for everyone.
Something one person barely remembers may become a defining experience for someone else.
9. The Subconscious Mind Communicates Through More Than Words
Have you ever heard the first few notes of a song and suddenly remembered exactly where you were when you used to listen to it? Or smelled a particular perfume and immediately thought of someone?
Our experiences aren't stored and processed exclusively as sentences. Images, sounds, smells, emotions, bodily sensations, memories, and associations can become linked.
This is one reason hypnosis can include imagery, metaphor, sensory awareness, memories, and feelings rather than relying entirely on verbal reasoning. And you don't have to be a vivid visualizer to experience hypnosis.
Some people see images. Others notice feelings or sensations. Some experience words, memories, or an internal sense of knowing. There isn't one “right” way.
10. Your Brain Doesn't Shut Down When You Sleep
You go to sleep, but your brain is still on duty. Sleep is an active biological state involving changing patterns of brain activity throughout the night. Processes related to learning, memory consolidation, and emotional processing continue while we're asleep.
This is where the familiar phrase “the subconscious never sleeps” comes from.
I wouldn't take that phrase literally to mean that every subconscious process is running at full capacity 24 hours a day.
A more accurate,and honestly just as fascinating, way to say it is:
Your brain remains remarkably active while you sleep.
Your conscious awareness may be resting, but plenty is still going on behind the scenes.
11. Your Mind Is Always Trying to Protect You
One of the most interesting things about our automatic responses is that many of them developed for a reason. Avoiding something that once hurt you, staying quiet because speaking up once had consequences, or keeping your guard up after being let down may have made sense at one point in your life.
The problem is that a response that once felt protective may continue long after you need it. Think of someone who learned early in life that keeping everyone happy helped avoid conflict. Years later, they may still find themselves saying yes when they want to say no, avoiding difficult conversations, or feeling guilty for setting boundaries.
The behavior may no longer be helpful, but somewhere along the way, it became associated with safety.
This is an important distinction in hypnosis. Rather than looking at an unwanted response as something that's simply “wrong” with you, we can become curious about why it developed in the first place and whether you still need it now.
12. Automatic Doesn't Mean Permanent
A thought, belief, emotional response, or habit can become automatic.
That doesn't mean you're stuck with it forever. Our brains retain the capacity to learn throughout life.
We can develop new associations, practice different responses, reconsider beliefs, and change behaviors.
And this brings us back to hypnosis.
Beyond Conscious Thought
You can consciously know something and still have difficulty changing it.
You can know the elevator is safe and still feel afraid when the doors close.
You can know you deserve to speak up and still find yourself staying quiet.
You can know one mistake doesn't define you and still carry shame about it years later.
You can know you want to stop a habit and still find yourself doing it automatically.
Hypnosis helps us access the deeper beliefs and associations behind our thoughts and behaviors.
Getting to the root.
Hypnosis isn't about giving up control or having someone take over your mind. Modern clinical descriptions generally involve focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an increased capacity to respond to suggestion. Research supports hypnosis for some clinical applications, although, as with any intervention, outcomes can vary depending on what it’s being used for and the client’s active participation in the process.
For me, one of the most fascinating things about hypnosis is recognizing just how much can be happening beneath conscious awareness. Knowing what you want to change is important and understanding what's been happening beneath the surface can give you another place to start.
References & Further Reading
If you’d like to dig deeper into the research behind some of the ideas discussed in this article, here are several helpful studies and reviews:
Hypnosis & Clinical Applications
Kekecs, Z., Moss, D., Elkins, G., et al. (2022). Guidelines for the Assessment of Efficacy of Clinical Hypnosis Applications. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 70(2), 104–122.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35316157/
Thought Suppression & the “White Bear” Effect
Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical Effects of Thought Suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3612492/
Thought Suppression: Later Research & Review
Wegner, D. M. (2011). Setting Free the Bears: Escape From Thought Suppression. American Psychologist, 66(8), 671–680.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22082381/
Automatic Processing & Automaticity
Moors, A. (2016). Automaticity: Componential, Causal, and Mechanistic Explanations. Annual Review of Psychology, 67, 263–287.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26331343/
Sleep & Emotional Processing
Tempesta, D., Socci, V., De Gennaro, L., & Ferrara, M. (2018). Sleep and Emotional Processing. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 40, 183–195.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29395984/
Sleep & Emotional Memory
Cunningham, T. J., Stickgold, R., & Kensinger, E. A. (2022). Investigating the Effects of Sleep and Sleep Loss on the Different Stages of Episodic Emotional Memory: A Narrative Review and Guide to the Future. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16, 910317.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36105652/
How Sleep Affects Emotional Memory
Schäfer, S. K., Wirth, B. E., Staginnus, M., Becker, N., Michael, T., & Sopp, M. R. (2020). Sleep's Impact on Emotional Recognition Memory: A Meta-Analysis of Whole-Night, Nap, and REM Sleep Effects. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 51, 101280.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32179376/
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