Imaginary Crimes. A common cause of repeated self sabotage

Note: See the helpful hint at the end of this article.

Self-sabotage. The art of subconsciously preventing ourselves from reaching the dreams and goals we think we desire. This takes many forms coming from a variety of root causes. One of the most insidious and frustrating is what Dr. Lewis Engel Ph.D and Tom Ferguson M.D. call “Imaginary Crimes”. Our core beliefs and assumptions about the world and how we fit into it are laid down by the age of six. From that point on, the subconscious tries to fit every life experience into those early programs. Why the term “Imaginary Crimes”?

Young children are typically moralistic. Everything has to be fair and equal. Everybody gets the same amount of cake or pie. As we grow up, life gets more complex. We can’t divide the world into identical equal pieces. But unless the original programming is altered somehow, the subconscious mind will still try to keep things fair. If we start to move toward success in any field our family, culture or tribe hasn’t yet achieved, internal struggles with the subconscious becomes more and more intense. Like being attached to the wall with bungee cords, the first few steps are easy. But the further we go, the harder we’re pulled back. Eventually we find ourselves mysteriously failing again.

When the conscious and subconscious minds disagree, the subconscious wins every time. It knows where all the buttons are and does whatever it takes to keep you safe the best way it thinks it knows how; based on these early programs.

EFT, otherwise known as Tapping or “Energy Psychology” offers powerful tools to help the conscious and subconscious minds collaborate. Re-examining these old programs until there is agreement on what’s the whole truth now. Moving forward is so much easier when the emergency brake’s off.

If these patterns sound familiar, you may wish to book an initial meeting to explore avenues to recovery; either in person or via Zoom video conferencing.

Hint: The higher the stress/distress level, the more the subconscious feels the need to take control. Aside from working with a practitioner such as myself, anything which reduces stress and increases resiliency will reduce the intensity of the dichotomy between conscious desires and subconscious beliefs and fears. This includes, exercise, diet, maintaining social networks, sleep and various forms of meditation.