The Basics of DBT Mindfulness Skills

In DBT, there are several different types of mindfulness skills, but the basic idea in mindfulness is to bring your mind to the present and pay attention to your experiences in the here and now. Often the first step in mindfulness is to simply pay attention to and notice your experiences right now (Linehan 1993b). For example, the next time you drink your favorite warm beverage, whether it’s hot tea, coffee, cocoa, or something else, really notice and pay attention to how it looks, its color, the way it moves in the cup when you pick it up, its aroma, how it feels in your mouth, the various tastes you experience, and so on. Keep your mind focused right on the present and on your experience of drinking your favorite hot beverage.

The idea is for you to step back in your mind and pay attention to your experience of the present moment, using your senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Pay close attention. If your mind wanders, bring it back again to what you’re focusing on. Don’t struggle with or try to change or escape from what you’re paying attention to. Beyond your five senses, you can also observe your thoughts.

Another way to practice mindfulness is to label or put words to your experiences (ibid.). While you are drinking your hot beverage, the idea here would be to describe to yourself what you notice. For example, The cup feels warm and smooth in my hands, I see steam rising from the cup, The coffee shows ripples on the surface as I pick up the cup, It smells “roasty” and smoky, The taste is of slightly burned toast and chocolate, and My mouth feels saturated with warmth. Use words to describe exactly what you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, or think. Just describe the facts without adding any judgments, inferences, opinions, guesses, or hunches. Don’t assume anything. Be really concrete and specific, and stick to the facts.

Another way to practice mindfulness—­and in some ways, this is the goal of mindfulness in DBT (Chapman and Linehan 2005)—­is to throw yourself into or immerse yourself in (Linehan 1993b) whatever you are doing in the present moment. With the hot beverage, the idea would be to really immerse yourself in the whole experience of drinking the beverage. Make this the one and only thing you do, and throw your mind and body completely into it. Pay attention to exactly what you’re doing, making whatever you are doing right now the most important thing you could possibly do. Do it with vigor and energy, and with your whole mind and body. Finally, in DBT mindfulness skills, as with most other types of mindfulness, there are three important things to always keep in mind (ibid.):

· Do one thing at a time. Do only one thing in the moment, one thing at a time. Avoid multitasking; avoid juggling different tasks. Just put your whole mind on this one activity, right here and now, whether that activity is driving, eating, walking, washing the dishes, talking with someone, reading a book, arguing, working, or waiting.

· Avoid judging. Don’t judge yourself, others, or your experiences. Avoid labeling anything “good, ” “bad, ” “right, ” “wrong, ” “should, ” or “should not.” If you catch yourself judging, then bring your mind back to the present or describe just the facts. Don’t judge yourself for judging, either (ibid.).

· Do what works. Learn from your experiences what works to reach your goals, and do the things that work. Don’t beat your head against the wall doing things that you want to do or feel like doing but that ultimately don’t work for you.