Many of you may be familiar with Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which is a specific type of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (also known as CBT), that focuses on the psychosocial aspects of treatment.
One activity I find particularly helpful in high stress, high anxiety situations is to sort my thoughts and emotions into this DBT exercise consisting of three categories:
- Emotional Mind
- Reasonable Mind, and
- Wise Mind
Instead of sorting a particular solution into pros and cons, where we may be more apt to focus on the negatives, we focus our thoughts into these three main states of mind. This is also a great exercise if you are simply having trouble deciding on a tough situation!
With this exercise, you want to think of each category as "overlapping", with Wise Mind being in the middle (see picture below). I tend to fill out Emotional Mind first, as this tends to be the more messy and overwhelming section, as we tend to react to situations with our emotions more so than our logic. This is where you will write down your feelings, as well as any thoughts or beliefs you have based on emotions.
Next, you will want to fill out Reasonable Mind, which focuses on the logic; The hard facts. It will take some time and discipline to keep this section void of emotion, but you will get the hang of it. It is important to not allow any distorted thoughts or beliefs (that is, based on your emotions), seep into this category, as this will defeat the purpose of this exercise. Think of yourself as an outside, a very analytical, facts based personality while you fill out this section. What would a psychiatrist or a researcher say about the situation at hand?
Finally, you will want to fill out your middle section; Wise Mind. Wise mind is where both your Emotional and Reasonable Minds work together to come to a mutual understanding about your situation. Wise Mind takes your feelings as well as the facts and a sort of solution may be formed. You will notice that you may feel much more at ease with your situation, as it should not feel as overwhelming as before you completed the exercise.
The next time you are having trouble with a situation, or feel overwhelmed, give this exercise a try, and let me know what you think!
Alycia