This is Part 2 in a series on mental safety. If you missed Part 1, start there: The Safety No One Talks About

In the last article, I introduced a concept that a client brought to my attention: mental safety.

We talk about physical safety—protection from bodily harm. We talk about emotional safety—feeling safe to be vulnerable. But we rarely talk about mental safety—feeling safe in your own mind.

For a lot of people, their mind is not a safe place. It's a war zone.

Today I want to get specific. If your mind is under attack, it helps to know exactly what's doing the attacking. Because you can't fight an enemy you can't name.

So let's name them.

Enemy #1: Lies

This is the big one.

Lies are the most dangerous enemy of mental safety because they disguise themselves as truth. They don't announce themselves. They don't wear name tags. They just move in and start talking like they belong there.

Lies from the enemy. Satan is called the "father of lies" for a reason (John 8:44). He's been whispering lies to humans since the garden. "Did God really say...?" He doesn't need to make you do terrible things. He just needs to make you believe terrible things—about yourself, about God, about others, about your future.

Lies from others. Sometimes the lies came from people. A parent who said you'd never amount to anything. A spouse who said no one else would ever want you. A teacher who said you weren't smart enough. A bully who said you were worthless. Those words landed somewhere. And if you never evicted them, they're still there—repeating themselves like a recording on loop.

Lies from yourself. These might be the most insidious. The conclusions you've drawn from painful experiences. "I'm not lovable." "I always mess things up." "I don't deserve good things." "It's only a matter of time before they leave." You've told yourself these things so many times they feel like facts. But feelings aren't facts. And repetition doesn't make something true.

The problem with lies is that they shape everything. They filter how you interpret your spouse's words. They determine what risks you're willing to take. They whisper worst-case scenarios and call it "being realistic."

If lies have taken up residence in your mind, your mind will never feel safe.

Enemy #2: Rumination

Rumination is when your brain gets stuck on repeat.

It's replaying that argument from three days ago—again. It's rehearsing what you should have said—again. It's analyzing what they meant by that look—again. It's running through every possible scenario of what could go wrong—again.

Rumination feels productive. It feels like you're working on something, solving something, preparing for something. But you're not. You're just spinning.

Here's the truth about rumination: it never arrives anywhere. You don't ruminate your way to peace. You don't replay your way to resolution. You just exhaust yourself going in circles.

And here's what makes it dangerous: rumination masquerades as thinking. But thinking moves forward. Rumination just loops. Thinking leads to insight. Rumination leads to exhaustion.

If your brain won't stop replaying, analyzing, and rehearsing, your mind is under attack.

Enemy #3: Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is when your brain's alarm system gets stuck in the "ON" position.

It's constantly scanning for threats. Looking for what could go wrong. Watching for signs of danger. Reading into every facial expression, every tone of voice, every pause in a conversation.

For some people, this is a trauma response. Something bad happened—maybe repeatedly—and your brain learned to stay on high alert. It was trying to protect you. And maybe, for a season, it did.

But now it won't turn off.

You can't relax because your brain won't let you. You're exhausted because threat-detection takes enormous energy. You interpret neutral things as negative because your brain is looking for problems. You can't enjoy good moments because you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Hypervigilance is your brain trying to keep you safe. But ironically, it destroys your sense of safety. You can't feel mentally safe when your alarm system never stops ringing.

Enemy #4: Intrusive Thoughts

Intrusive thoughts are the ones that show up uninvited.

They're the dark thought that flashes through your mind and makes you wonder, "Where did THAT come from?" They're the worst-case scenario that appears out of nowhere. They're the disturbing image or idea that you didn't ask for and don't want.

Here's what most people don't know: having intrusive thoughts doesn't mean something is wrong with you. Everyone has them. The difference is how you respond to them.

Some people let intrusive thoughts pass through like clouds. They notice them and let them go.

Other people grab onto them. They engage with them. They ask, "Why did I think that? What does that mean about me? Am I a terrible person?" And suddenly a passing thought becomes a spiral.

Intrusive thoughts become an enemy of mental safety when you give them more attention than they deserve. When you treat every random thought as meaningful. When you let them set up camp instead of showing them the door.

Enemy #5: Other People's Opinions

This one is sneaky.

Somewhere along the way, other people's opinions moved into your head and started paying rent. Except they're not paying rent. They're living there for free. And they're loud.

Your mother's voice criticizing your choices. Your father's disappointment. Your ex's accusations. Your boss's evaluation. That thing someone said at church fifteen years ago. The comment section from that social media post.

These opinions don't belong to you. You didn't choose them. But they've taken up residence anyway. And now they're part of the background noise in your mind.

Here's the question: who gave them a key?

At some point, you let them in. Maybe you agreed with them. Maybe you were too tired to fight them. Maybe you didn't realize you had a choice.

But you do have a choice. Not every opinion deserves space in your head. Not every criticism warrants consideration. Not every voice gets a vote.

If other people's opinions are cluttering your mind, your mind will feel crowded—and unsafe.

Enemy #6: Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are thinking errors—patterns of thought that seem logical but aren't.

All-or-nothing thinking: "If it's not perfect, it's a failure." "If they don't agree with everything, they're against me."

Catastrophizing: Taking one small thing and projecting it into worst-case disaster. "They didn't text back. They must be mad. They're probably going to leave me."

Mind-reading: Assuming you know what someone else is thinking—and it's always negative. "I know they think I'm incompetent."

Emotional reasoning: "I feel like a failure, therefore I am a failure." "I feel unlovable, therefore I'm unlovable."

Should statements: "I should be further along by now." "They should have known better." "I shouldn't feel this way."

These distortions feel like truth. They feel like logic. But they're not. They're errors in processing—glitches in the software—that skew everything.

If your thinking patterns are distorted, your conclusions will be too. And you'll never feel mentally safe when you can't trust your own thinking.

Know Your Enemy

Here's why this matters: you can't fight what you can't see.

If you just know your mind feels unsafe but you can't identify why, you're swinging at shadows. But once you can name the specific enemies—lies, rumination, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, other people's opinions, cognitive distortions—you can start fighting back with precision.

In the next article, I'm going to give you practical tools for creating mental safety. We'll talk about how to evict the lies, quiet the rumination, and build what I'm calling a "safe room" in your mind.

But for now, I want you to do something simple.

Pay attention.

This week, notice what's attacking your mind. Is it lies? Which ones? Is it rumination? About what? Is it hypervigilance? What triggered it? Is it intrusive thoughts? How are you responding to them?

Awareness is the first step. You can't evict a tenant you don't know is living there.

Your mind doesn't have to be a war zone. But first, you need to know what you're fighting.

If your mind has felt more like a prison than a refuge, you don't have to figure this out alone. This is exactly what we work on together in the Smalley Sojourners community.

You can text me at (303) 435-2630  or email [email protected].

Which of these enemies resonates most with you? Is it lies? Rumination? Hypervigilance? Something else? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.