Mindfulness Skills - VIDEO 12 - QUIZ

Practicing Mindfulness: Observing and Describing Our Thoughts

• Mindfulness involves observing and paying attention to our present moment experiences, including our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
• Mindfulness meditation is one way to practice mindfulness, where we focus on our inner experiences and redirect our attention to the present moment when our minds wander.
• The two main ways to practice mindfulness in DBT are observing and describing or labeling our experiences.
• Being mindful of our thoughts involves noticing when we have extraneous thoughts and acknowledging them without engaging with them.
• We can treat our extraneous thoughts like sounds in the background or clouds passing through the sky to help us observe them without getting caught up in them.
• Describing our thoughts involves simply observing and describing to ourselves what is going on in our minds, without engaging with the content of the thoughts.
• Labeling our thoughts involves assigning a short phrase or label to what is going on in our minds, which helps us become aware of our thoughts without getting emotionally attached to them.
• Practicing mindfulness on a regular basis can help build our mindfulness skills and make them more accessible during times of crisis or overwhelm.
• Mindfulness can be practiced through meditation or as we go about our daily lives by focusing our attention on the present moment.
• Strong emotions and body sensations can be overwhelming, but mindfulness can help us stay present and regulate our emotions.
• DBT offers various emotion regulation skills that can be used in conjunction with mindfulness to manage intense emotions.
• Mindfulness takes practice, and there are many ways to incorporate it into our daily lives to improve our overall well-being.