The Need for Space to Think in an Age That Won’t Stop Moving

How often do we stop and really think?

Not the quick, surface-level thoughts that fill our days—what to cook for dinner, how to reply to that message—but the deeper kind of thinking that helps us make sense of who we are, what we feel, and what matters.

Creating space to think

In truth, most of us rarely do. And it’s not because we don’t want to—it’s because the world we live in makes it increasingly hard to find, or to tolerate, space to think.

In my work here at Archibald Psychotherapy, I return again and again to the idea that space to think is not a luxury—it’s a psychological necessity.

Without it, we lose touch not only with ourselves but with our capacity to feel, to process, and to grow.

My position and where my base is

I am a 'Gen X' adult, in social cultural terms. For those that dont know what this means it a cultural social term generated in social media to describe the age in which I was brought up. 1965-1980. In these years alot changed. The internet, phones, music formats and life as a whole in the UK and some, not all, countries of the world were developed and became the mainstay of how we live. It gives me the opportunity to discuss this topic in a rather unique way as someone who was around before the widespread internet, mobile phone, social media age.

I also went through this change and adapted to the 'new world' of convenience and fast satisfaction, resolution of frustration and access to what I needed without as much thought needing to be involved. This is the background to what I talk about today. I know some people will groan and say 'here we go... another story about what the 'old days were like' but I do feel privaledged to have lived and developed during the technological years of change.

Why Is It So Hard to Think?

From a psychoanalytic perspective, thinking isn’t always welcome. This hasnt came about suddenly because of the introduction of modern technology and has been around for as long as we have been able to think. Wilfred Bion, one of the great thinkers in psychoanalysis, suggested that when emotions are too overwhelming, the mind simply shuts down the capacity to think in order to protect itself. Thinking brings us closer to painful feelings—grief, fear, conflict, loss. So instead, we fill the space. We busy ourselves. We avoid.

I often see this in therapy. Patients arrive in the room feeling numb or stuck or overwhelmed. It isn’t that they are unwilling to think—it’s that their mind has unconsciously decided it’s safer not to. Thinking stirs up feeling, and feeling can hurt.

This shutting down of thought doesn’t only happen in individuals. It happens collectively, too.

Society’s Defences Against Thought

When society is under pressure—wars, pandemics, economic fears, climate emergencies—something very similar happens. We look for quick answers. We polarise. We scapegoat. We cling to simple explanations for complex problems. We lose the capacity for nuance, uncertainty, and reflection. This has happened historically, and we can easily see examples today as you can during the second world war, the further back in history.

Take the witch hunts of old. What was that about and what were we avoiding? The societal rise of women? The rise of technology and thinking? The getting rid of parts of society that we could not or did not want to understand? I won’t go into my thoughts about this too much here about what might have caused this particular disaster, it but we can surmise that something was so difficult to think about, so painful, that it is easier to come to the conclusion that people were witches and needed to be disposed of rather than thinking about the anxieties and worries that perhaps the 'strange behaviour', 'challenging of societal norms' and cultural shifts create.

The pace of modern life doesn’t help. We are bombarded by headlines, social media updates, soundbites. There’s little time, and even less encouragement, to stop and really think. The result is a kind of collective breathlessness, where knee-jerk reactions replace thoughtful responses and where complexity is too often flattened into “us vs them” narratives. There is a reason people still say today 'it’s a witch hunt'

witch hunt

Thinking is hard work. It means slowing down. It means tolerating not-knowing. It means sitting with feelings that don’t have easy resolutions and with uncertainty and something unfamiliar. In a world that prizes speed, certainty, and productivity, the quiet work of thought is often sidelined and discouraged.

The Fear Beneath the Noise

Psychoanalysis has long taught that knowing oneself is rarely comfortable. It means facing parts of ourselves we might rather not see—our fears, our longings, our disappointments. When life feels uncertain or frightening, it’s tempting to avoid that kind of inner work.

Instead, we stay busy. We scroll. We work harder. We fill the space with noise. These are understandable defences. They help us feel in control when the world feels anything but.

But over time, something vital is lost. When we stop creating space to think, we lose touch with our deeper selves. We lose the ability to reflect, to imagine, to process emotion. And ultimately, we lose the capacity to relate meaningfully to others.

The Cost of No Space

You can see the effects everywhere.

In workplaces where burnout is rife because there’s no time to reflect on the emotional toll of what people do every day.

In relationships where difficult conversations are avoided in favour of distraction or withdrawal.

In politics where quick soundbites replace genuine debate.  That the government is often swayed by popularist movements rather than hard made and thought about, unpopular at times decision making. 

burnout is real

In mental health services under pressure, where the deeper psychological work of understanding is often eclipsed by the drive for measurable outcomes.

And perhaps most painfully, in us: in that nagging feeling of disconnection, numbness, or restlessness that many people carry without quite knowing why.

Therapy as a Space to Think

This is why therapy matters. In many ways, my task as a therapist’s task is simple: to create and hold space for thinking. A space that isn’t rushed, isn’t focused on immediate answers, and doesn’t demand certainty.

It can be deeply uncomfortable at first. Many people come to therapy hoping to be “fixed,” only to find that the process is slower, more reflective, and sometimes unsettling. But it is in this space—where thoughts and feelings can be named, explored, and understood—and where I believe that real change becomes possible.

To paraphrase Donald Winnicott, it’s in the capacity to be alone in the presence of another that we truly find ourselves. Therapy offers that rare relational space where thinking can happen in the company of another mind—a mind that doesn’t judge, rush, or demand.

Reclaiming Space in Everyday Life

Not everyone will choose to go into therapy, but the need for space to think applies to all of us. There are small but powerful ways we can begin to reclaim it in daily life:

·        Pause before reacting—whether to news, social media, or another person.

·        Allow yourself to feel discomfort rather than rushing to soothe or avoid it.

·        Make time for silence—walks without podcasts, moments without screens, time without agenda.

·        Engage with difference—read views you don’t agree with, have conversations that stretch you.

·        Value slowness—understand that insight, like growth, takes time.

None of this is easy. In a world where attention is a commercial commodity, choosing to slow down and think can feel like swimming against the tide. But the psychological rewards are immense.

A Call to Thoughtfulness

As we face ongoing global uncertainty—social unrest, environmental change, political division—the temptation to avoid thinking will only grow stronger. But avoidance brings its own dangers: increased anxiety, disconnection, fragmentation and further ‘far right’ thinking.

Creating space to think is not a passive act. It is an act of quiet resistance. It is a way of tending to the self, to others, and to the world with care, depth, and humanity.

At Archibald Psychotherapy, I believe that thinking—and the space that makes it possible—is the foundation of emotional wellbeing. In a time that urges us to move faster, I invite you to slow down.

To stop. To think. To feel.

And perhaps, in that space, to find something new.

Select a free consultation in services today and see what we can find together.