Listening to Your Three Brains

Listening to Your Three Brains

A Practical Guide to Head, Heart, and Gut Wisdom

By Marc D. Richter, LICSW, LADC, CADC

What if I told you you’re not overthinking, overfeeling, or overreacting—you’re just not listening to all three brains. Multi-Brain Integration (MBI) is a powerful framework that helps you navigate decisions and emotions by tuning into your head, heart, and gut as distinct yet connected sources of wisdom.

HEAD BRAIN

🧠 Your Head Brain

Your Head Brain is all about thoughts, logic, and problem-solving. It helps you analyze, plan, and make sense of things. But when overused, it can lead to overthinking and disconnect you from how you feel or what you know in your body.

Examples:

- You get a job offer that looks great on paper, but something about it feels wrong. Your head says yes, but your gut says no and your heart isn’t in it.

- You keep researching a decision for weeks—reading reviews, asking everyone’s opinion—while avoiding how exhausted or misaligned you feel.

- You try to make a pros-and-cons list for a big move, but it leaves you more confused because it ignores the deeper emotional truth.

HEART BRAIN

❤️ Your Heart Brain

The Heart Brain holds your feelings, relationships, empathy, and emotional truth. It helps you connect with others, tune into what matters, and show compassion. When it dominates, though, it may lead to people-pleasing or staying in situations that no longer serve you.

Examples:

- You stay in a relationship because your heart still loves them—even though your gut is uncomfortable and your head sees the mismatch.

- You take on more than you can handle at work because you don’t want to let anyone down, even if it’s hurting your health.

- You avoid a necessary boundary with a family member because you feel guilty, even though you’ve been clear about your needs.

GUT BRAIN

🦠 Your Gut Brain

The Gut Brain governs instinct, safety, boundaries, and action. It often knows what’s right or wrong before your thoughts catch up. It’s your body’s early warning system. But when over-relied on, it can create impulsivity or chronic defensiveness.

Examples:

- You meet someone and immediately feel uneasy—your gut is speaking. The head and heart might second-guess it, but your gut often senses misalignment first.

- You say no to a project or person instantly, even before you can articulate why. Later, the reasoning becomes clear.

- You sense that a situation is unsafe or draining and feel the urge to flee, even if nothing “bad” has happened yet.

📝 Try This 3-Point Check-In

1. What is my head saying? (thoughts)

2. What is my heart saying? (feelings)

3. What is my gut saying? (instincts/body cues)

Prompt: “My head says ______________________________________,

my heart feels _____________________________________________,

and my gut senses __________________________________________.

I will honor all three by _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.”

You don’t have to agree with all three. But when you listen to them all, you begin to make wiser, more integrated choices.