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DBT Mindfulness Skill

Wise Mind

Wise Mind is a state of awareness that includes both what you feel and what you know, while helping you recognize the most effective way to respond.

What Is Wise Mind?

DBT describes different states of mind that can influence how we understand situations and make decisions.

Emotion Mind is strongly influenced by feelings, urges, and emotional reactions. Reasonable Mind focuses on facts, logic, planning, and practical information.

Wise Mind includes awareness of both. It is not simply splitting the difference between emotion and logic. Instead, it involves stepping back enough to recognize what you know, what you feel, and what response is most effective or consistent with your deeper values.

Try This Now

Check In With Wise Mind

  1. Pause before responding.
  2. Notice what emotions and urges are present.
  3. Notice the facts you know about the situation.
  4. Allow both sets of information to exist at the same time.
  5. Ask yourself: “What do I know, what do I feel, and what is the most effective next step?”
  6. Give yourself a moment before deciding whether to act.

The Three States of Mind

Emotion Mind

In Emotion Mind, feelings and urges have a strong influence over thoughts, interpretations, and actions.

Emotion Mind is not inherently bad. Emotions provide important information about needs, values, relationships, danger, loss, and other experiences.

Difficulties can occur when intense emotions become the only information being used to make a decision.

Reasonable Mind

Reasonable Mind focuses on facts, logic, planning, analysis, and practical problem solving.

This state can be useful when organizing information, making calculations, developing plans, or evaluating options.

Difficulties can occur when emotional information, personal values, or important needs are ignored.

Wise Mind

Wise Mind recognizes emotional information and factual information while considering what is effective in the larger situation.

Sometimes Wise Mind feels like a clear understanding rather than a lengthy argument with yourself.

Accessing Wise Mind does not mean that difficult emotions disappear. You can still feel angry, afraid, sad, or uncertain while choosing a Wise Mind response.

Ways to Practice Wise Mind

Name Your Current State of Mind

Ask yourself which state seems to have the strongest influence right now.

  • Am I primarily reacting from Emotion Mind?
  • Am I relying only on Reasonable Mind?
  • Can I notice both without immediately acting?
Separate Feelings From Facts

Try making two short lists.

What I feel: emotions, fears, wants, urges, and concerns.

What I know: observable facts and information that can be verified.

Then consider both lists together before deciding what to do.

Ask a Wise Mind Question

Useful questions can include:

  • What response will actually help this situation?
  • What choice will I be comfortable with later?
  • What am I missing because my emotions are intense?
  • What am I missing because I am ignoring my emotions?
  • What fits with the person I want to be?
Give Wise Mind Time

You do not always need to make an important decision immediately.

If emotions are extremely intense, another coping strategy such as grounding, breathing, TIPP, or a temporary time-out may help before returning to the decision.