Hey, it’s Chris. 
Let’s go deeper. 

Last week, we looked at the big picture. 
Metaphor. Loop. Identity. 
The thing behind the thing. 

(If you want a reminder you can read the previous newsletter here) 

You might’ve felt yourself lean in. 
Like I was showing you something you weren’t supposed to see. 
And maybe I did.

But here’s the twist:
Seeing the system doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes, it just makes you smarter while you’re still stuck!

Let’s talk about that.

You know the moment.

You’re scrolling Reddit.
You find a thread about people-pleasing.
You read a line and BAM... it hits.

“I do it because I learned to survive that way.”

Your brain lights up.
You name it. You own it. You deep dive into it.

And then?

Nothing changes.

You still say yes when you mean no.
You still bend. Still fawn. Still explain.

Only now, you’re doing it with awareness.
You’ve got terminology.
You can diagnose it in real-time.

But you still do it.

Why?

Because the pattern didn’t break.
It just got rebranded.

The Awareness Trap

When you name a pattern, the system doesn’t dissolve.

It stabilises.

“Ohhh… I people-please because of that thing.”

Translation: I am now the one who understands my people-pleasing.

This is seductive.

Especially if your brain is wired for loops.
High awareness, fast cognition, recursive narrative rehearsal...

Your insight becomes your new identity.
The loop stays... it just upgrades to high-definition.

You become “the person who’s working on it.”
Not free. Just re-cast...
(An NPC with a new outfit - for the gamers among us!)

This isn’t change.
It’s narrative inertia.

CLINICAL BRAIN SNACK
(Cool to skip. Delicious if chewed.)

When the self names a loop, it creates a secondary stabiliser... a new role: the one who noticed the loop.

Julian Jaynes referred to this as metaphor fusion.
Once the metaphor fuses with the experience, it becomes lived reality... not just language.

In developmental psychology, this is echoed in identity homeostasis.
The system doesn’t want to grow.
It wants to remain coherent.

So when a cognitive-emotional pattern is finally “seen,” the act of seeing it becomes the new self-narrative.

It feels like change.
But it isn’t.

It’s recursive inertia... where the performance of growth replaces the experience of it.

Until the system is interrupted structurally, nothing really shifts.

Interrupt the Role, Not the Pattern

Let’s use an example.

Hypothetically, lets say you struggle with overeating.
You’ve read the books.
Done the diets.
You know about emotional regulation.
You understand your loop.

You understand it.
And it’s still running.

So instead of analysing it again, and again, and again…
You take up rock climbing.
(Random, right?)

Not random. Here’s why:

Climbing gives you something bigger to orient around.
Not just a distraction... a new system.

It presupposes different habits:
More energy.
Better sleep.
Lighter frame.
Functional strength.
Even social belonging in a new tribe.

Suddenly, you’re not someone “struggling to eat less.”
You’re someone who fuels for performance.
For movement.
For identity.

It's simply who you are and it wouldn't make sense to do otherwise!

The food loop isn’t fixed.
It’s outgrown... It's redundant.

Because you chose a story that doesn’t include it.

You leave the old narrative hungry.
And eventually...
it stops coming back to feed.

Wanna test it?

1. Notice the moment. That old familiar tug.
2. Don’t label it. Don’t narrate it. Don’t research about it.
3. Do something new. Something your old loop wouldn’t expect.
4. Don’t announce the shift. Just be it.
5. Watch what happens.

And when the old voice returns... confused?

Just smile.
That voice isn’t a character in your story anymore.

Did this crack something open for you?
Or piss you off? 🤣
You’re exactly where you need to be

Hit reply
Say: “That’s me.”
Or just: “Okay, jerk-face.”
(I can take it)

~ Chris

P.S.
Next time, we're going to dig into something most people never question:
what your "inner voice" actually is…
and why the way you talk to yourself might be the most important factor in your mental health. It’s not about "quieting the mind". It’s about learning to author it.

You’ll see what I mean.