I can hear the cringy facial expression coming through the screen from you as I write that awful sentence..
“We’re All Brainwashed.”
And as cringy as it sounds— if we were all honest with ourselves we would know that this is true.
Brainwashing, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “a forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas.”
When I read that definition I couldn’t help but laugh because of the negative connotation associated with both the word and the definition.
If you were to ask any given person on the street about their feelings about brainwashing each and every person would likely share a similar feeling about it. A feeling of rebellion against it, and perhaps they wince at the utterance of the word.
But then, if you actually reflect deeply enough you’ll understand that we all are products of brainwashing from the earliest bouts of childhood, and as we grow we may embrace the very brainwashing we encountered as children. Or, we may reject it and acclimate to other forms of brainwashing that more closely reflect our sense of self at that time.
Children experience the very “forcible indoctrination” which the definition of brainwashing includes. I’m not a parent nor do I claim to be, but as someone who was once a child there are “contrasting regimented ideas” that are most definitely encouraged and dare I say “forced upon”, because ultimately we come into the world never needing to be taught how to be selfish. But rather selfless and thoughtful. Pushing boundaries are innate to our very makeup which is why the structure of brainwashing is so effective. Because where there are no parameters or structure, chaos is birthed.
Brainwashing can be positive or negative but ultimately it requires a level of self awareness within yourself to determine what you want to be washing your brain with.
Maybe you really enjoy spending your time cruising down the highway to your favorite Spotify playlist, staying up to date on all of your reality tv obsessions and pop culture trends. Which sounds innocent enough— until you find yourself consumed with vanity and struggle to be present in your relationships because you’re Addic Ted to the validation you get from Instagram. Or maybe, you spend your time constantly diving into Jordan Peterson talks on YouTube, and spending all of your free time reading articles about attachment styles trying to dissect the question of “why am I the way I am and do I like this version of me?” That sounds good though, right? Progress is good. But the obsession of it can lead to an ongoing perception of discontentment and the feelings of despair consuming you and making you feel like you’re not worthy of love exactly how you are.
Neither reality, or the realities found in between, are wrong— they’re simply different. But it’s through those differences that we can decipher what thoughts occupy our brain the most and what our reactions are to the thoughts that swirl around in there.
Are we doing activities to reprogram our brain from the trauma we’ve received at the actions of other people and the trauma we continue to cause ourselves? Or are we avoiding the reality of the trauma we’ve endured by the actions of others and ourselves by escaping to worlds of fiction and other people’s lives?
Enjoying entertainment for entertainment purposes is one thing, but using it as a distraction from prioritizing your own daily growth, can be a problem. And of course having your only form of entertainment being the obsession of constantly trying to work on yourself without having other creative outlets for entertainment can be just as toxic.
I don’t mind being brainwashed, I just want to make sure what I’m washing it with isn’t poisonous expectations of comparison or the ongoing focus of the looming feelings of self-doubt.
andrea statler 