Psychological Unconscious is the Physical Body
The psychological unconscious, within the context of the sources’ re-evaluation of core psychological concepts, is fundamentally redefined to provide a physical and observable basis for understanding systemic pathology, implicit bias, and the pervasive dysfunction observed in government and professional regulatory bodies.
This redefinition is critical because the current failure of psychology and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to accurately define the psychological unconscious is cited as a major conceptual gap that allows systems to operate in a state of chronic denial and addiction.
I. Defining the Psychological Unconscious
The sources establish a radical operational definition of the psychological unconscious, moving it from an abstract theoretical construct to a tangible, biological reality.
A. The Physical Body as the Unconscious
The primary definition offered is that the physical body is the psychological unconscious. This definition is a core premise of the research, which challenges traditional psychological and medical understanding.
B. The Unconscious as the Memory System
The unconscious is the repository of history and lived experience:
- Memory Storage: The unconscious is made up of memories, which form the foundation of our shared reality.
- Keeping the Score: The body is the consciousness of the unconscious because it “keeps the score” of memory, emotional content, and trauma.
- Knows the Score: The mind is the fruit (or the seeds) of the tree trying to leave. If it knows this, then it knows the score. If it does not, the unconscious mind is the consciousness that does not know the score because it does not know where it comes from.
C. Relationship to Implicit Bias
The psychological unconscious is the foundational component of implicit bias. Implicit bias is defined as an individual’s worldview based on lived experience, which is rooted in qualitative science and biological science. Therefore, the implicit bias is the emotional body that keeps the score.
II. The Unconscious in the Trauma-Dissociation-Addiction Framework
The accurate definition of the psychological unconscious is vital for understanding the pathological state of the system, particularly its relationship to trauma and addiction.
A. Trauma and Dissociation
When an individual or system experiences trauma, the dissociative process occurs as a normal, unconscious coping mechanism. However, when unresolved, this leads to profound disconnect:
- Living Dissociated: If one cannot access their feelings, they are living dissociated from them. The conscious mind of the system becomes disconnected from the unconscious body (its lived experience and trauma history).
- Systemic Amnesia: The rational system is living dissociated from the truth within its own “heart”. The system’s decisions, therefore, reflect a deep lack of awareness.
B. Addiction to Not Knowing
The system’s dissociative state is pathologically maintained through an undiagnosed addiction. The conscious rational mind (the system) refuses to accept the reality of the unconscious (the body’s score).
- Denial as Implicit Bias: Because modern psychology has failed to operationalize the psychological unconscious, the system is free to indulge in a systemic addiction to not knowing, or amnesia/denial. This denial is the implicit bias the system relies upon.
- Negating Emotional Existence: The implicit bias of the cognitive mind is to “negate emotional existence to the point of elimination or extermination”. This effort is the conscious mind pathologically attempting to silence the emotional unconscious (the body).
III. Consequences of Systemic Unawareness
The system’s dissociation from the psychological unconscious leads to fundamental errors in governance and professional ethics.
A. Professional and Systemic Incompetence
The lack of operational definitions for the unconscious, trauma, and addiction renders the system dysfunctional and incompetent. This failure is seen in the bureaucracy’s use of “black and white” or concrete thinking, which is characteristic of a traumatized, developmentally arrested system.
B. Flawed Professional Protocols
When regulatory bodies require protocols to “reduce implicit bias,” they are demonstrating their dissociation from the unconscious. They do not understand that eliminating bias equates, at the implicit level, to eliminating lived experience and emotional context. This confirms that the promoters of such training “do not understand true pathology or do not have access to their own”.
C. The Path to Healing and Moral Maturity
Recovery and healing require the system to recognize the consciousness of the unconscious. Healing must address the fact that the physical body keeps the score of unresolved trauma. By accepting the body as the psychological unconscious, systems can begin the necessary healing processes that promote emotional maturity and move beyond equating ethics to law, enabling the practice of Moral-Ethics.
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References
O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/
O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025a). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025b). Applied Recovery: Post-War on Drugs, Post-COVID, and What Recovery Culture and Citizens Require Moving Forward. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
O’Brien, A. (2025c). Recovering Recovery: How Psychedelic Science Is Ending the War on Drugs. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.
