If I say to you, DON’T think about a pink elephant flying through the clouds with a rainbow umbrella, what are you thinking right now?
I’m thinking about an aeroplane taking a leak on a helicopter. (How does that even work, and why did your mind go there??)
It’s impossible not to think thoughts. That’s just how our brains work.
The problem is when those thoughts invade and take over, we start ruminating. That’s destructive.
In this article, you’ll learn about a DBT skill called mindfulness of current thoughts. It’s part of distress tolerance skills and is valuable for helping you stay on top of that rumination we all love returning to.
By the end of the post, you’ll understand how this skill works, how you can use it, and how to practice it so you’re always in control.
Ready? Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
What is mindfulness of current thoughts?
Mindfulness of current thoughts is labelling your thoughts so that those thoughts can be rationalised.
Another way to think of labelling is ‘observing and describing‘.
When you observe and describe the fact that you’ve had the thought, rather than getting caught up in describing its content, you let that thought come and go.
When you label your thoughts, you create space from them.
It’s like you view them as guests in your mind. You welcome them in, and you see them back out again. (Unlike that neighbour from over the road who shows up when you’re just out of the shower.)
They don’t take over. They don’t dominate.
So when you’re mindful of your current thoughts, you let those thoughts come and go.
Why is it a valuable DBT skill?
Mindfulness of current thoughts is taught as part of the distress tolerance skills in dialectical behavioral therapy [1]. It forms part of your emotional regulation skills and teaches you to notice thoughts.
It’s helpful because you can identify when your thoughts might lead you into a rumination cycle.
A rumination cycle is when you have a thought followed by other feelings and thoughts. You then start ruminating on those feelings and thoughts. The cycle continues until you’re a quivering mess in the corner!
This is a vicious cycle that usually ends with you not feeling great about yourself.
Ever heard of the snowball effect? Yeah, it’s exactly like that.
So, practising labelling your thoughts is valuable. Labelling thoughts rationalises them, helping you avoid reacting blindly to them.
You can identify what emotions the thought has brought on and why they’re occurring.
This means that YOU are in control, not your thoughts or feelings.
When you use this skill, you’re waving goodbye to thoughts—’ OK, yeah, smell ya later’ is what you’re saying.
It lets you step back from your thoughts and feelings and look at them like an outside observer.
How It Works
It’s really easy to get sucked into your thoughts and feelings. You can’t stop thinking (how about that urinating aeroplane!?).
So, instead of becoming a victim of your thoughts, you can label them with short sentences or words.
Think of them like passing clouds. Imagine lying on your back, looking up at the sky, and observing the clouds passing over you.
That’s the same as your thoughts. You notice what you’re thinking, worrying or upset about. Then you let those thoughts go, just like the clouds.
You don’t judge yourself for having those thoughts.
After all, you’re always thinking—YOU CAN’T STOP THINKING—so don’t get caught up in the fact that you’re feeling these things [3].
You just let them come and go because thoughts will naturally come and go.
So when you observe that you’re engaged in thinking, worrying, obsessing, or dwelling, the content of the thought loses its power.
It’s like it instantly melts away because you’ve recognised that you’re doing it.
It is as if your thoughts are an iceberg, and by noticing them, you have a MASSIVE laser beam that melts them away!
When you think, “Why haven’t they called me back yet? I hate my life! It shouldn’t be this way!” an emotional reaction follows, making those thoughts much harder to let go of.
Instead, if you describe those thoughts with a simple label, the pull of those thoughts diminishes.
The simple label can be ‘anxiety thoughts’, ‘sad thoughts’, or ‘worry thoughts’. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s not meant to be.
It’s just a way to label it quickly and efficiently so that you can get on with whatever you’re trying to do.
It’s a helpful way of not getting caught up in your emotions and feelings and not letting them call the shots.
This is the power of this skill; it’s a GAME CHANGER in emotion regulation.
How to practice mindfulness of current thoughts
All you have to do is start noticing your thoughts. This can be difficult because we’re wrapped up in many different activities and jobs in our daily lives.
So I recommend you take 30 seconds of your day and ask yourself:
“What am I thinking about right now?
Where do those thoughts come from?
How are they making me feel?”
This practice is best when you’re just doing regular stuff.
Do this regularly.
You’ll find that when a difficult situation comes up, your instant reaction will start to become:
“I have an anxious thought, I’m having a worry thought”, and it will stop being
“I remember all the other times I’ve been anxious before. I hate anxiety. Anxiety sucks. I wish my life were over”.
Now, maybe you will need to react to those thoughts (because someone is stealing your lunch from the office fridge again), but probably you won’t have to.
Instead, what you’ll find yourself doing is noticing the fact that you’ve had that thought and that it’s okay to have that thought. You don’t need to start the rumination cycle.
Practice makes permanent. You’ll only be able to use this DBT skill effectively if you consciously remember to do it.
So, set a reminder for yourself on your phone. Put a five-minute reminder on your calendar.
Just get into the habit of actually doing this, and you’ll find it helps you massively.
Practice exercises
Here are a few other practice exercises for you to try. These are from the DBT Skills book by Marsha Linehan:
As you notice thoughts in your mind, ask, “Where did the thought come from?” Then watch your mind to see if you can see where it came from.
Step back from your mind, as if you are on top of a mountain and your mind is just a boulder down below. Gaze at your mind, watching what thoughts come up when you are watching it. Come back into your mind before you stop.
Relax your face and body while imagining accepting your thoughts as only thoughts— sensations of the brain.
Rehearse what you would do if you did not view your thoughts as facts.
Practice loving your thoughts as they go through your mind.
Here’s a mindful meditation to follow, too, if that’s your thing [2].
If you notice you’re struggling to get the hang of this, practising half-smiling could help.
The sister exercise to this one is mindfulness of current emotions.
References:
- [1] – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/dialectical-behaviour-therapy-dbt/
- [2] – https://www.mindful.org/a-basic-mindfulness-meditation-for-labeling-thoughts-and-emotions/
- [3] – https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/what-causes-overthinking-and-6-ways-to-stop/
