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Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the ability to be aware of your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and actions – in the present moment – without judging or criticising yourself, others or your experience. Mindfulness is a skill that requires practice. Most people can zone out or live running on autopilot. As a result, we can feel anxious, lost or disconnected. Mindfulness helps to live life more in the moment.

Here are some Decider Skills and Advanced DBT Mindfulness Techniques:

Keep Calm and Carry On

Keep Calm and Carry On Focus on your chosen slogan or positive self talk statement to help you cope during distressing times KEEP CALM and USE YOUR DBT SKILLS: Positive Self Talk ‘I can do it. ‘ ‘I’m good enough. ‘ ‘If I want to, I can. ‘ ‘It doesn’t matter if I make a mistake. Just intentionally… Continue reading Keep Calm and Carry On

Wise Mind

Wise Mind The wise mind is the ability to make healthy decisions about your life. Often, both intuition and wise mind are described as “feelings” that come from “the gut” or the stomach area. The exercise that follows will help you get more in touch with your gut feelings, both physically and mentally. This exercise… Continue reading Wise Mind

Describe your Emotion

Describe your Emotion This is the fourth exercise of the Basic Mindfulness Skills, that will help you recognise and focus on your thoughts, emotions and physical sensations. This exercise will ask you to choose an emotion and then describe that emotion by drawing it and exploring it. Ideally, you should choose an emotion that you’re… Continue reading Describe your Emotion

Thought Defusion

Thought Defusion This Exercise will help you focus on your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Thought Defusion is a technique borrowed from acceptance and commitment therapy, which has proven to be a very successful treatment for emotional distress. When distressing thoughts keep happening, it’s easy to let them go on auto-pilot. in contrast, Thought Defusion… Continue reading Thought Defusion

Fact or Opinion

Fact or Opinion Ask yourself: Is this thought fact or opinion? Come back to the FACTS! Have you ever regretted your response to a situation? In the moment, our initial “knee-jerk” reaction seems like the most compelling option. We yell, run away, or say things that we don’t mean because that’s how we feel in… Continue reading Fact or Opinion

Drift

Drift Am I drifting? Is my attention wandering? Bring attention back to my chosen focus. The goal of the grounding technique is to help you get in the here and now. When you are overwhelmed with emotions you often stopping being present in the moment, and drift off into an inner world of thoughts, or… Continue reading Drift

Focus

Focus Where is my focus of attention? What am I thinking about? Where do I want to focus? Explore a fruit: Use Observe and Describe to explore an orange. What are the visual features, what does it feel like, and what does it smell like? Now, slowly start to peel the orange and continue to… Continue reading Focus

This Moment

This Moment Focus on the here and now, in this moment. Say to yourself: ‘I am sitting’ or ‘I am walking’. ‘I am looking’ or ‘I am listening’. ‘I am breathing’. Notice the sensations of that activity in this moment. The DBT IMPROVE the Moment skills are intended as a menu of options you can… Continue reading This Moment

Observe

Observe Take the helicopter view! Pull back. What’s the bigger picture? Do you ever find your thoughts drift in the wrong direction? You are out taking a morning stroll, you want to be out enjoying the sunshine. But, your thoughts keep taking you off course. You keep thinking about whether you turned off the oven,… Continue reading Observe

Breathe

Breathe Breathe Focus attention on the breath. Imagine a balloon inflating on the in-breath, and deflating on the out-breath. Belly breathing:It’s common to fall into the habit of shallow breathing only within your chest. Instead, try belly breathing, which is also known as diaphragmatic breathing. Start by finding a comfortable place to sit down or… Continue reading Breathe

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