DBT Day 2: States of Mind- Emotion Mind

[Elle_Luv]

This is also part of the module of mindfulness! The goal of mindfulness is to being awareness to our thoughts and our surroundings. Once a person becomes aware of when they are having unwanted thoughts, than they are able to make a choice to control those thoughts. The goal of this lesson on emotion mind is to bring awareness to when an individual is in emotion mind, in tomorrow’s post I will talk about Wise Mind, and than the two lessons will come together.

Everyone has experienced emotion mind, but people with mood disorders are especially familiar with it (I know I am). So what is emotion mind?

Well it kind of looks like this:

Being mood-dependent. If you’re feeling angry you might scream or throw a pillow. If you’re feeling sad you might cry or lay in bed, or missing class or work.

Impulsivity. Doing things we want to do without consideration for how it affects ourselves or others. When I’m in a manic episode I have impulsively bought things, even when I didn’t really need it or have the means to afford it.

Being reactive. In the past when my dad has made me angry, I’n usually in emotion mind and screaming back at him. Or sometimes when someone tells me they love me or care about me I will smile and tell them the same.

While some of us may have developed a hatred towards our emotional states, they are not bad! Emotion mind has its ups and downs just like logic mind. Yes when we’re emotional we might say or do things we regret later on, due to our impulsivity, but there are lots if circumstances where emotion mind benefits us. It allows us to be creative (have you ever tried ro write an essay and didn’t like it? What about when you wrote a memoir?) it gives us empathy for others and allows us to connect with others a lot more. Even impulsivity can be seen as spontaneity , have you ever just gone with the flow and ended up having a great time?

So now I’m asking you, when was a time you were in emotion mind? Start small! I was in emotion mind yesterday when I didn’t feel like going for a walk. Share what you feel comfortable sharing! And try to recognize at least one time today where you felt you were in emotion mind.

Hope this helps! <3

[Hidden]

Yesterday I was in emotion mind when I got out my frustrations to my husband about his brother, who rubs me the wrong way. He is beyond frustrating with his feelings of entitlement. I always feel bad right after letting out my frustrations about his flesh and blood, but at times it just becomes too much to keep in. My husband has always forgiven me for this, but it still makes me feel bad. Today I was in emotion mind when I let my tiredness take over and stayed in bed almost all day (although this can also be blended with logic mind since I do have sleep issues and ptsd symptoms where I can't stand being tired).Thank you for these posts!

[Elle_Luv in reply to Hidden]

You’re welcome!! I’m sorry things those things frustrate you!

[Hidden]

This is honestly sort of amusing because emotion mind is a very unnatural state for me, it's like the opposite of "normal." Completely atypical behavior for me.So, the days when I have homework to do, but find myself in a blue funk and can't concentrate on anything except how horrible life, the universe, and everything is. I usually end up in bed napping because I can't bring myself to face anything.

Do you think that's where the expression "turning your face to the wall" (as in giving up) comes from?

Or, when my mom tries to be helpful (which usually means giving me unwanted advice) and I get more and more frustrated because she is so clueless and unable to help.