Shouldn't we have a user manual?
- Fiona Prendergast
- Sep 30, 2025
- 2 min read
Think about all the things in our life we are taught about or have user manuals for.
Most of us were taught how to drive a car and how to operate a computer. When we get a new appliance or device, it generally comes with a user guide so we can learn how to use it.
And yet the tool we use all day every day to operate our entire lives - our brain – does not come with a user manual.
Luckily there have been some great advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging in the last 40 or so years which have allowed us to see and understand how our mind works.
We know that we have different areas of the brain that take care of different processes and functions.
Our intellectual brain is an incredible resource that can solve problems and create solutions. When we operate from this part of the brain, we can be the best version of ourselves.
We also have the original primitive part of our brain, our primitive mind. This bit of the brain is concerned with our survival and we generally refer to it as the ‘fight-flight-freeze’ area of the brain. It’s great for stopping us stepping out in front of moving car, or for catching a child superhero-style as they fall from a swing.
But, this part of the brain can go into overdrive. Alert to threats and dangers, it can become hyper-vigilant and take over our thought processes. This can lead to anxiety and/or depression, as well as OCD and even addictions...
The good news is, that it is possible to take control and interrupt the unwanted patterns our primitive mind runs. We can even create stronger, more powerful patterns so that we think and feel and behave in positive ways we welcome!
In my therapy sessions, I share relevant, useful information about how the brain works so that clients understand what is going on in their heads and why. I do this in a relatable, easy-to-digest way. Clients build up their own user guide for their brain which will help them for life.
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