The 7: A Body-Based Mental Health Framework

Overview

A replacement for categorical psychiatric diagnosis (DSM/ICD "buckets") with a dimensional, person-first, body-mapped system.

Core idea: Instead of asking "which disorder do you have?", ask "where are you on each dimension, and where do you want to be?"

The 7 Characteristics

Detailed Definitions

1. HEAD

Where's your attention?

SCATTERED ─────────── FLEXIBLE ─────────── LOCKED
    ↓                     ↓                    ↓
bouncing              can direct            can't release
everywhere            and shift             stuck/rigid
can't hold                                  hyperfocused

Body location: Head, behind the eyes What it captures: ADHD-scattered, OCD-locked, healthy flexibility People say: "My head is all over the place" / "I can't get out of my head"

2. GUARD

How alert is your protection system?

DOWN ─────────────── TUNED ─────────────── UP
  ↓                    ↓                    ↓
oblivious          calibrated         everything's
danger-blind       to context          a threat
reckless                              hypervigilant

Body location: Chest, shoulders, throat (where anxiety grips) What it captures: Anxiety, panic, hypervigilance, PTSD, but also recklessness People say: "My guard is up" / "I let my guard down"

3. HEART

Can you feel alive? Can you feel good things as good?

NUMB ─────────────── ALIVE ─────────────── CHASING
  ↓                    ↓                      ↓
nothing             pleasure               never enough
registers           works                  always seeking
gray/flat                                  can't satisfy

Body location: Heart center, spreading to whole chest What it captures: Anhedonia, depression, addiction, motivation, aliveness People say: "My heart's not in it" / "I feel heartless" / "Light-hearted"

4. GUT

How much fuel is in the tank?

EMPTY ─────────────── STEADY ─────────────── OVERFLOWING
  ↓                      ↓                       ↓
depleted             sustainable              can't stop
can't start          energy                   wired/burning
crashed                                       manic

Body location: Core, belly, solar plexus What it captures: Depression fatigue, mania, burnout, chronic fatigue, hyperactivity People say: "I'm gutted" / "No fire in my gut" / "Gut feeling"

5. GRIP

How tightly are you holding on?

LOOSE ─────────────── BALANCED ─────────────── TIGHT
  ↓                       ↓                       ↓
nothing sticks        can hold               can't let go
chaotic               and release            rumination
impulsive                                    obsession/rigidity

Body location: Hands, jaw, shoulders What it captures: OCD, rumination, worry loops, compulsive control, BUT ALSO impulsivity and chaos People say: "I'm gripping too tight" / "Let it go" / "I can't hold onto anything"

6. GROUND

Are you HERE - in your body, in the present, as yourself?

FLOATING ─────────── ROOTED ─────────────── FROZEN
    ↓                   ↓                      ↓
who am I?           embodied,              rigidly fixed
dissociated         present,               can't adapt
unreal              coherent               identity fortress

Body location: Feet, base of spine, whole-body weight What it captures: Dissociation, depersonalization, identity disturbance, trauma disconnection, rigid self-defense People say: "I feel ungrounded" / "I'm not myself" / "I feel floaty"

7. REACH

How do you connect with others?

PULLED IN ─────────── CONNECTED ─────────── MERGED
    ↓                     ↓                    ↓
don't need           attached but          can't exist
cut off              boundaried            without others
avoidant                                   enmeshed

Body location: Arms (reaching out or pulling in) What it captures: Social anxiety, avoidance, codependency, healthy interdependence, attachment patterns People say: "I'm reaching out" / "I pulled back" / "I need space"

Memory Aid

Seven questions your body already knows:

HEAD     →  "Where's my head at?"
GUARD    →  "Is my guard up?"
HEART    →  "Is my heart in it?"
GUT      →  "What's my gut say?"
GRIP     →  "Am I gripping or letting go?"
GROUND   →  "Am I grounded?"
REACH    →  "Am I reaching out or pulling in?"

Key Principles

1. No position is inherently "right" - context determines whether a position serves you
2. Both ends can be problematic - not "more is better" or "less is better"
3. Middle is often (not always) balanced - but YOUR target is personal
4. States, not traits - this is where you ARE, not who you ARE
5. You define the target - not a norm, not a professional, you
6. Change is visible - track movement on each dimension over time
7. Body already knows - the framework names what you already feel