Coping Strategy
Mindfulness
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness means bringing your attention to what is happening right now. This can include your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, urges, surroundings, or whatever activity you are currently doing.
The goal is not to stop thinking, eliminate emotions, or force yourself to relax. Instead, mindfulness helps create some space between what you experience and how you choose to respond.
Try This Now
One-Minute Mindfulness
- Pause what you are doing.
- Notice your breathing.
- Notice sensations in your body.
- Notice any thoughts or emotions that appear.
- Allow them to be present without immediately trying to change them.
- When your attention wanders, gently return it to what is happening right now.
Your attention will wander. Noticing that it wandered and returning to the present is part of the practice.
DBT Mindfulness Skills
Observe
Notice thoughts, emotions, sensations, urges, and events without immediately trying to change or respond to them.
Describe
Put what you notice into words while separating observable facts from assumptions and judgments.
Participate
Become fully involved in the activity or moment instead of remaining distracted or watching yourself from the outside.
Nonjudgmentally
Notice what is happening without automatically labeling the experience as good, bad, stupid, unfair, or wrong.
One-Mindfully
Do one thing at a time and intentionally return your attention to that activity when your mind wanders.
Effectively
Focus on what works in the situation rather than becoming stuck on how you believe things should be.
Exercises & Applications
Observe Without Reacting
When a strong emotion, thought, or urge appears, try noticing it before responding.
For example:
“I notice that I am having the urge to react.”
Describe the Facts
Describe what happened using only directly observable information.
Instead of:
“They ignored me because they don't care.”
Try:
“I sent a message three hours ago and have not received a response.”
One-Mindful Activity
Choose one ordinary activity and give it your full attention.
- Drinking coffee or tea
- Taking a shower
- Washing dishes
- Walking
- Eating a meal
- Listening to music
- Petting an animal
Mindful Walking
While walking, intentionally notice physical sensations and your surroundings.
- Your feet contacting the ground
- Movement in your legs
- Your breathing
- Temperature and air
- Sounds
- Colors and movement around you
Practice Nonjudgment
Notice judgmental language and replace it with a more factual description.
Instead of:
“I'm terrible at this.”
Try:
“I'm having difficulty with this right now.”