Eighth Exercise: Breathing into Wise Mind
I'm quite keen to be shot of Wise Mind, but because DBT is all about the practice and consolidation of skills, I'm stuck. Poor me. Or is it lucky me?
I’m attempting this exercise whilst on the 6.25 am train to Charing Cross. This is my last journey into London for work, so I’ll enjoy that feeling.
The carriage is pretty empty, and I so I feel kind of calm right now.
The first part of this exercise is to observe my breath. I hope it doesn’t mind being watched. The point here is to tap into a centred or grounded feeling.
‘By connecting to our physical core when trying to figure out what to do, we can connect to our embodied, inner wisdom.’
On my Southeastern train, I take 3 long slow breaths. Then I return to breathing normally, and observe my breathing in and out. I if I carry on doing this, I’ll fall asleep. But a woman has just down opposite me. This is a new variable, and I’ll need to regroup.
The next part of the exercise is to continue observing breathing, and bring my attention to a decision I need to make.
This is where it all falls apart. I don’ have any decisions to make right now. I just have a lot of things I need to keep an eye on – finding a new job, conserving money, keeping my mood even.
So when I do the deep breathing again, as the book suggests, and then turn to Wise Mind, I just have a jumble of concerns for it. I can’t blame Wise Mind - I’ve overwhelmed it.
But I do have an answer, of sorts. Money, job seeking, and mood are interlinked. My task to make sure they all stay in balance so that I don’t undermine my efforts.
Breathing into Wise Mind is a checking-in with yourself exercise. You can use it if you feel you’re about to go off-track and eat a whole gateau in one sitting, or if you plan to ditch the gym, take out a new credit card, and so on. You can ask yourself – ‘Would that be Wise Mind?’ And then take it from there.
The last exercise in this section is about integrating Wise Mind into your week. I am going to do this (in fact, I’ve already started), but I’m not going to write about it. This is because I am very keen to get onto the next chunk of the book, which is all about…Emotion Regulation.