DBT States of Mind:

[Elle_Luv]

Hey everybody! I wanted to start something new. I did two round of DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) for a year and it greatly improved my life and mental illness. Now, I am not a therapist, but I still wanted to talk about these skills. DBT is divided into four modules: Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance.

Today I’m going to start with mindfulness! (No it’s not new age bullshit about meditating for 45 mins and connecting with a higher power) it’s pretty simple actually.

States of Mind refers to three states of mind we all expereince. i’m going to start slow and just talk about reason/logic mind. I can’t share worksheets, or use exact quotes (copyright), but if you’re interested in a certain skill you can research more about, and Barnes and Nobles has the original book!

Logic Mind:

This mindset looks as it sounds. Being rational, analytical, robotic, unattached.

Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory has this approach to most of his life, and if you’re familiar with the show, you understand that there are ups and downs to this thinking. The upsides are you are able to problem solve and think rationally, but the downsides, are that sometimes its hard to connect emotionally with others.

If you’re willing share a time when you were in logic mind! You don’t have to be Sheldon Cooper to have this mindset. Maybe you had this when you were at school or work. Just give a small example, even if it was only for a minute or two. And than: how did you know you were in reason mind?

Would love to hear your thoughts! Tomorrow I’ll do a post on Emotion Mind!

[Whiskers16]

I’m interested in this but at the moment don’t think I have any logical mind left in me

[Elle_Luv in reply to Whiskers16]

Logic mind ebs and flows! It never goes away completely! There are ways to bring yourself into logic mind such as just focusing on the facts. Some simple practices that could help you get into logic mind are reading non-fictional informational books, doing homework if you’re in school. Researching s topic that interests you. Sometimes i start with listing just simple facts (that chair is brown. I have a job at x.) I believe in you! You are capable of being logical!

[Whiskers16 in reply to Elle_Luv]

I’m 56 so not at school but Would love any advice Thank you

[Elle_Luv in reply to Whiskers16]

Do you have any topics that interest you? Something you would like to learn about? Maybe an informational documentary?

[FearIsALiar]

What is the book?

[Elle_Luv in reply to FearIsALiar]

DBT skills and training manual! Brand new it can be a little pricey(up to $50) but i noticed some used books as well!

[Hidden]

That's so neat to share your experience/knowledge with DBT! I am definitely interested to learn more. Great post!I am unsure but probably throughout my teenage years I was in logic mind. In school I was encouraged to think analytically, I was all about speaking and acting reasonably, making the sensible decision, and yes, it was hard to bond with people and make friends. Drama had no place in my life, it was like a closed book.

[Elle_Luv in reply to Hidden]

Yes! I am usually very analytical and logical while at school too! If you think it will help you, try to recognize what logic mind looks for you now!

[Hidden]

Awesome idea, Elle_Luv! I took a DBT course several years ago and really benefitted from it (not to mention I met some pretty awesome people)! I had forgotten about the modules, so thanks for bringing me back I have an entire binder with woksheets and homework back home. I need to get to out again the next time I'm there. I'm glad it helps you! I did a post about the mindfulness exercises we did at the start of each session. It was pretty neat!

[Elle_Luv in reply to Hidden]

Yes! I really loved DBT! There is a lot of evidence for it with helping people, and it was giving me the structure I needed to practice these! I’m so glad I could bring it back for you i hope to post more about it!

[Hidden in reply to Elle_Luv]

Well, apparently I did not post about it. I did write about it, though, so it must be in a reply to someone instead. I'll try and find it for you.

[Elle_Luv in reply to Hidden]

I would love that!

[Hidden in reply to Elle_Luv]

Hi again! I can't find it, so I'll recreate it. It talked about a mindful exercise that our DBT therapist had us do at the beginning of each session. He would have us take turns bringing an everyday item, putting it in the center of the table, and focusing on it for one minute. For example, I brought a jar of colored stones once. Someone else brought a plant and someone else led us in a one minute meditation.

[Elle_Luv in reply to Hidden]

Oh we used to do things like that too! They had a little meditation bowl and we just had to focus on the sound. I loved those little mindfulness practices ☺️ thank you for sharing!

[Hidden in reply to Elle_Luv]

What's a meditation bowl? Sounds neat! You're welcome!😊

[texasbonnet]

I am a global learner. In other words for me to make sense of what is being presented to me I have to know where I am headed. It appears that DBT is made up of several steps. When the steps are learned, experienced whatever, what am I going to have learned. Another way is to ask what is the objective of this method. I think you have a good idea.

[Elle_Luv in reply to texasbonnet]

Oh! I hadn’t even considered that! I’ll start adding that into these posts! The goals of mindfulness (which is the module) is essentially to bring awareness. Ideally, you would become aware of when you are in logic mind. Another goal is to experience reality, and the other goal is to increase control of your mind. When people meditate (which is a mindfulness practice) at first your mind might start to wander, but with practice you recognize that your mind is wandering and bring yourself back. So for this particular lesson, i would say the goal is to become aware of when you are in logic mind, as i post more lessons you’ll learn more about emotion mind and wise mind, and than that control element will come into play. Was that helpful?

[texasbonnet]

Yes, very helpful. I am interested in seeing what unfolds. Back in the 80's I did some type of therapy, forget what it was called and only remember taking a real situation where one's mind jumps to an irrational conclusion. I only remember telling the group I could not reach my son so my mind went straight to the thought that he and his girl friend were behind some bush making a baby. I was relieved when there was no baby making. I was kind of embarrassed to tell the group where my mind instantly went to.

[Elle_Luv in reply to texasbonnet]

No need to feel ashamed! I have absolutely done that myself! Thank you for sharing with me!

[texasbonnet in reply to Elle_Luv]

any time