DBT Skill: Distracting for Relief of Obsessive or Ruminating Thoughts (OCD, BPD)

From time to time we all deal with thoughts that are distressing. If there isn't much you can do in the moment to change the circumstances causing you distress, one way to skillfully cope with the flood of thoughts is to mindfully distract yourself.  This doesn't mean that you pretend that the problem isn't there -- of course you know it is. It just means that you are consciously choosing to give yourself a break from dwelling on it for a little while.

Today I was ruminating and obsessing over a certain thought over which I had no control. I realize that this glitch in my thought process is probably due to some extra stress that I'm facing. Because I'm aware of this and the fact that it is only causing me more distress to keep obsessing, I've chosen to distract in a few ways, including:

• Studying Spanish on Rosetta Stone.
• Watching a Christmas movie with Spanish audio. (I don't understand much, but the parts I do get are pretty exciting. This takes A LOT of my focus on and attention,making it a great Distraction activity).
• Chatting on Twitter

Are you currently having distressing thoughts over things you can't control?  What activities might you engage in to distract yourself for a bit?

Thanks for reading.

More Soon.

Here are some other posts you may find helpful:

Using Distraction DBT Skill for Dissociation and Distress

How Can I Help You (and Myself)? The DBT Skill of Distracting by Contributing

DBT: Self Soothing with a Bedtime Story (at any age!)

Last night after having an anxiety attack and feeling lonely, I thought back to when I was very little and my mother would read me stories until I fell asleep. I got to know the stories so well that I would catch her when she was tired and tried to skip a page. Just thinking about this positive memory was soothing.

Years later, I ended up in foster homes and then group homes. One of my best memories in the all girls group home was when one of our house mothers would read me bedtime stories. So what if I was fifteen? I felt so much comfort and felt so soothed. Before I moved to another group home, she made a recording of her reading Peter Pan, and I cherished it and listened to it whenever I needed to soothe -- long before I knew anything about DBT.

No matter your age, if you think you would be comforted by someone reading you a bedtime story, I have good news. Last night I did a google search and came up with several websites that offer free recordings.

If your device doesn't do flash (like my iPad), check out this site:

StoryNory


If you have flash, here are a few other options:
Free Children's Books Online (audio)


Thanks for reading.
More soon.

DBT Skill: Observing / Just Noticing Our Experience

Observing is a mindfulness skill, and it takes some discipline and focused attention in order for it to work for us. It is considered one of the "Taking Hold of Your Mind" skills in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

When we practice observing, we try to be like a baby who doesn't yet have words for his or her experience. A pre-verbal baby observes the experience at hand without being able to label it or judge it.  Click here for an example of an exercise we once did in DBT class to practice this skill.

According to Dr. Marsha Linehan, founder of DBT, we practice observing by:

• Just noticing our experience without getting caught up in it or reacting to it
• Allowing our feelings, thoughts, etc. to come and go, like clouds in the sky
• Staying with our experience -- not pushing away or clinging to anything -- just allowing things to unfold
• Noticing what we experience through each of your senses

I practiced this skill tonight as I noticed I was becoming quite anxious.  I had some muscle tension and a slight headache, and as I began to stress about why I was in discomfort, I noticed that my heart began to race. I was starting to have a panic attack.  Instead of labeling everything that was happening, I just sat back and observed. (I've had SO many anxiety and panic attacks over the years that I have come to grips with the fact that it's best to NOT resist them but to let them run their course. It's much quicker this way and involves far less suffering.)

At the time, I did my best to just watch and let things pass. I noticed but resisted labeling or judging the experience (the next thing I did was practice describing, which allows for stating facts, such as "heart is racing fast," "anxiety is coming up for me"), but in the meantime, I just watched and waited until the anxiety subsided.

Today I will check off the following skills on my DBT Diary Card:

• Observe
• Describe

Have you practiced this skill in the past? Have you found it helpful? Might you give it a try?

Thank you for reading.

More Soon.