Mental Freedom

Mental freedom can be understood in several ways. It involves being free from the feeling of being dictated by your mind, allowing you to rise above the traps created by the thinking process. It means seeing your thoughts as thoughts, rather than confusing them with reality, and recognising them as mental events that are not in charge of you. It is the ability to step back from your thoughts, make room for them, and notice them without getting caught up in what they tell you.

This freedom extends to seeing your own reactions and gaining the freedom to choose not to buy into them, leading to empowerment and real choice. Mental freedom also entails freedom from unnecessary suffering, which sources suggest arises from pain combined with non-acceptance and the struggle to get rid of painful feelings. It’s about ending the internal tug-of-war with unwanted thoughts and feelings by simply letting go of the control ropes. A key aspect is the ability to separate yourself from a problematic self-image and see issues as external influences rather than defining who you are. Ultimately, it allows you to act as you wish, having gained a mindful distance from your thoughts.

Achieving and Improving Mental Freedom: Strategies and Techniques

Achieving mental freedom involves cultivating a different relationship with your inner experience and taking intentional action. Several strategies and techniques can be employed:

Mindfulness and Acceptance: This involves paying attention in the present moment without judgement. When your mind wanders, the practice is to gently and kindly return your attention to your focus, such as your breathing. Acceptance means embracing thoughts and feelings, especially unwanted ones, without trying to eliminate or change them, or acting upon them. This active acceptance is a courageous choice to experience what is already there. It is presented as the opposite of trying to control inner experience and is seen as ending the internal struggle. Mindfulness itself can be a strategy to see thoughts as thoughts, helping you make contact with experience as it is, rather than trying to control it.
Changing Your Relationship with Thoughts: Instead of battling unwanted thoughts, you can learn to relate to them differently. This includes techniques like repeating an upsetting thought until it sounds like meaningless noise, thereby reducing its power. You can also practice stepping back from thoughts by using phrases like “My mind is having the thought that…” to create space and notice thoughts as creations of the mind. Identifying inflexible thinking patterns using words like “must” or “should” and replacing them with more flexible language can also shift your perspective. Learning to discern whether carrying a particular feeling is still serving you can lead to the willingness to let it go if it is unnecessary.
Taking Action and Choosing Your Direction: A crucial element is to choose directions for your life based on what you value and commit to putting those values into freely chosen action. This means engaging in activities that are important to you, particularly those that anxiety may have caused you to avoid. Sources suggest that truly overcoming difficulties involves experiential learning through doing, often doing the opposite of your automatic reactions, to break unhelpful patterns. Setting clear goals aligned with your values and focussing on them can also provide direction and improve your state of mind. This relates to the concept of self-liberation, which is the belief in your ability to change your own behaviour and the commitment to act on that belief. Identifying problems clearly and focussing on creating solutions (“how”) rather than dwelling on the reasons for the problem (“why”) can also help you move forward.
Cultivating Helpful Perspectives and Self-Relationship: Self-awareness is highlighted as being at the core of recovery and helps in seeing new options and gaining perspective. This involves paying attention to what is going on in your mind without judgement. Externalising problems can help you see them as separate from yourself, changing your perspective. Developing kindness and compassion towards yourself, especially towards self-criticism, is important. Practising self-support involves acknowledging your feelings with acceptance, such as using phrases like “I hear and accept that you feel X” towards a distressed part of yourself. This consistent practice can build a deep sense of inner safety over time. Confronting difficult emotions directly by naming them, rather than ignoring them, is also part of resolving emotional conflict. Making conscious decisions and finding a sense of choice in situations helps increase perceived autonomy, and training your brain for flexibility allows you to see more options. Taking time to nurture and nourish yourself is also mentioned as part of this process.

Benefits of Mental Freedom

Developing mental freedom can lead to numerous positive outcomes:

You can rise above the mental traps and move toward what matters to you.
You gain the ability to see thoughts clearly and are no longer controlled by them.
You can separate your sense of self from problematic self-images.
The array of thoughts and actions available to you widens, and you can expand your ideas and activities.
You experience increased confidence and a greater sense of control over your life.
There is an increase in positive emotions, creating an atmosphere where they can flourish, leading to a new and better life.
You can gain control of yourself and your worries.
It leads to finding inner peace and a quieter mind.
You become able to relate to your experiences differently.
Your quality of life improves.
You can make contact with inner experiences (thoughts, feelings, sensations) that you previously feared and avoided.
You become able to accept your inner experiences and develop greater clarity about your personal values.
This leads to committing to needed behaviour change and putting those commitments into action.
You gain the freedom to move in directions that are important to you, and internal struggle decreases.
Suffering is reduced.
Your mind can become less reactive, gain insight into how it works, and develop flexibility in responding.
You can develop a place of calm, promoting health and vitality, and fostering caring kindness towards yourself and others.
You gain increased contact with valued life experiences and reduce avoidance.
You better understand your challenges and how to respond to them.
You have a tool to instantly improve how you feel, restoring a sense of control, reducing anxious “what if’s,” and helping peace and perspective return.
You are empowered to identify what you might be holding onto and find healthier ways to meet needs.
A deep sense of ongoing safety and belief in your ability to cope develops.
You are no longer defined by your problems and are able to get on with life.
Your ability to see options increases.
You are on the path to creating a happier and healthier self.
Stress decreases as independent control increases.
You can resolve emotional conflict and gain control of your emotions and actions.
You can achieve mental balance for optimal well-being and performance.

Summary: What is mental freedom

Mental freedom involves liberation from the dictation of your thoughts, allowing you to choose how to respond to your inner experience and the world. It is achieved not by controlling or eliminating unwanted thoughts and feelings, but by learning to relate to them differently through practices like mindfulness and acceptance. Key strategies include paying non-judgemental attention to the present moment, seeing thoughts as separate from reality, accepting and making space for difficult emotions, challenging unhelpful thinking patterns, and committing to actions aligned with your values. Cultivating self-awareness, self-compassion, and a supportive inner voice are also vital. The benefits are extensive, including reduced suffering, increased positive emotions, clarity on values, greater control over your actions (rather than your feelings), reduced stress, enhanced mental flexibility, improved relationships with yourself and your inner experience, and ultimately, a happier and more vital life where you are not defined by your challenges but are empowered to move towards what matters.