1. Session 5: Advanced Mindfulness
Humber
Recovery College
Humber
Recovery College
Coping with Emotions
Session 5: Advanced Mindfulness

2. Quick Review of Last Session
Last time, we discussed:
What mindfulness is and how it can be of benefit to us
Focus shifting, mindfulness awareness of emotions, focus on single object/minute
Ways of integrating mindfulness into everyday life
DBT States of Mind Model
Quick Review of Last Session

3. Aims of Today’s Session
Aim to :
Use Thought Diffusion
Reflect on our tendency to make negative judgments
Consider mindful communication
Create a mindfulness regime
Focus on moment-to-moment stream of awareness
Separate your thoughts from your emotions and physical sensations
Aims of Today’s Session

4. Thoughts & Thought Diffusion
Now we turn our attention to thoughts
We are going to identify the number of thoughts we have in a 3minute period
This exercise will help you become more mindful of just how quickly your mind really works
I will time three minutes; for those three minutes, write down every thought you have.
Don’t write the whole thought, just a word to sum the thought up
Thoughts & Thought Diffusion

5. Thought diffusion is borrowed from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy which has proven to be a very successful treatment for emotional distress
It’s easy to get ‘hooked’ on repetitive distressing thoughts.
Our aim to be able to mindfully observe our thoughts without getting stuck on them
With practice, you can gain the freedom to choose which thoughts you want to focus on and which thoughts you want to let go of
Thought Diffusion

6. Imagine sitting in a field watching your thoughts float away on clouds
Picture yourself sitting by a stream watching your thoughts float past on leaves
See your thoughts written in the sand and then watch the waves wash them away
Picture yourself driving your car and seeing your thoughts pass by on billboards
See your thoughts leave your head and watch them sizzle in the flame of a candle
Imagine sitting beside a tree and watch your thoughts float down on leaves
Picture yourself standing in a room with two doors, then watch your thoughts enter through one door and leave through the other
Thought Diffusion

7. Thought Diffusion

8. Remember that a crucial part of mindfulness is becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings, emotions and physical sensations without judging or criticising!
In order to be truly mindful in the present moment and be fully centred in wise mind, you must practice being non-judgmental
Example: Thomas
Radical Acceptance

9. The first step to changing a problem is realising when the problem occurs
So recognising when you are being judgmental or critical
GROUP EXERCISE: Generate a list of some of the negative judgements you have made in the last week – these could be about yourself, others or the environment
Negative Judgments

10. Catch yourself in the act!
It may be helpful to use a visual reminder to remind yourself to write down your negative judgments
For example, you could wear a bracelet or a band around your wrist, or put a note on your fridge saying ‘judgments’
Catch yourself in the act!

11. The next piece of work you will need to do this week is keep a record of positive judgments
If we want to learn to accept, we need to become aware of our tendency to make judgments OF ANY KIND
GROUP ACTIVITY: Discuss occasions in the last week when you made positive judgements
Beginner’s Mind

12. Judgment Diffusion

13. Mindful Communication
As you deepen your skills in mindfulness, it’s important to incorporate them into your interactions with others.
If you are judgmental in the way you communicate with someone, you may lose that relationship
Exercise One
Let’s spend a few minutes in pairs discussing times when you have been involved in an interaction with another person, and you felt you were being judged and not fully listened to
Exercise Two
And now, in pairs discuss an occasion when you think that maybe you were a little judgmental
Mindful Communication

14. Mindful Communication
GROUP ACTIVITY: If you were being mindful when communicating with another person, how might that look?
Draw a mind map of the things that might be happening in a communication if you were being more mindful within it
Also think about different forms of communication – e.g. , text, social media, face-to-face, telephone – would it be different in each of these cases?
Mindful Communication

15. Mindful “I” Statements
Mindful communication is communication that is based on how you feel
You learn to be able to let someone know how you feel in a non-judgmental way
This method of communication evokes greater empathy and understanding from others
Mindful “I” Statements

16. Mindful “I” Statements
How might we rephrase these to be mindful “I” statements?
You make me feel horrible
I know you’re doing this on purpose to drive me crazy
Why do you keep making me so angry?
You’re being insulting
You’re getting on my nerves
You’re being a jerk, stop it
Why do you keep doing this to me?
Sometimes I feel like you’re being too inflexible

17. Mindful “I” Statements
You make me feel horrible
I feel horrible
I know you’re doing this on purpose to drive me crazy
I feel crazy when you do that
Why do you keep making me so angry?
I feel angry right now
You’re being insulting
I feel like an idiot when you do that
You’re getting on my nerves
I feel tense when you tease me like that
You’re being a jerk, stop it
I feel hurt when you do that
Why do you keep doing this to me?
I feel very hurt when you do that to me
Sometimes I feel like you’re being too inflexible
I feel uncomfortable when you don’t consider my point of view
Mindful “I” Statements

18. Doing What’s Effective
This is a concept in DBT that in which you do what is appropriate and necessary in the present moment
This may around resolving a problem, coping with a situation, or reaching your goal
Sometimes, the new strategies may feel unnatural and go against your emotions
Sometimes, in order to get what you need, you have to modify what you feel like doing, especially if you struggle with overwhelming emotions.
Let’s look at a few examples…(p.104)
Doing What’s Effective

19. Doing What’s Effective
In order to do what’s effective, you have to:
Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings
Avoid judging the situation or your actions
Choose actions that are appropriate and necessary to reach your goal
Do the best you can
Doing What’s Effective

20. Homework: Integrating Mindfulness Skills into Everyday Life
Mindfulness skills are all about practice – the more you do it, the easier it becomes, and the more you will benefit from all you have learnt
This week’s homework tasks are:
Negative judgments record
Positive Judgments record
Things you read in the paper or see on the news
Judgments about yourself
Judgments about other people
Judgments about the things you do
Judgments about things like the weather or the temperature
Just do as much as you would like to and feel able to do!
Homework: Integrating Mindfulness Skills into Everyday Life

21. Inner-Outer Experience
Let’s finish with a final mindfulness activity:
You’ve practiced being mindful of both an object outside of yourself, and your internal physical sensations
Next, we can combine the two experiences
This exercise teaches you how to recognise and focus on your thoughts, emotions and physical sensations
This is done by shifting your attention back and forth in a mindful, focused way, between what you are experiencing internally, such as physical sensations and thoughts, and what you notice via your senses
Inner-Outer Experience

22. Inner-Outer Experience Exercise

23. Course Overview Date Session 4th October
Introductory Session – Psychology & DBT Approach
11th October
Basic Distress Tolerance Skills
18th October
Advanced Distress Tolerance Skills
25th October
Basic Mindfulness Skills
1st November
BREAK WEEK – NO SESSION
8th November
Advanced Mindfulness Skills
15th November
Basic Emotional Regulation Skills
22rd November
Advanced Emotion Regulation Skills
29th November
Basic Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills
6th December
Advanced Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills
13th December
Putting it All Together

24. Well Done! You’ve completed Session 5! Next Week:
Humber
Recovery College
Well Done! You’ve completed Session 5! Next Week:
Session 6: Basic Emotional Regulation Skills