DBT Skills: Observe Your Thoughts, Reduce Your Anxiety
Find a comfortable spot to sit, either seated or lying down. Take a moment to focus on softening your body and releasing any tension in your shoulders. Close your eyes.
Focus your attention on your breathing. Observe what it feels like to be in your body, in this moment, as you slowly breathe in and then breathe out. As you spend a few minutes here, Imagine that you are riding the wave of your own breath. You feel safe.
Next, shift your attention to your thoughts. Begin to notice your thoughts, remembering that they are just thoughts. Nothing to do in this moment but simply observe. If you'd like, you can imagine that your thoughts pass by on a cloud, or perhaps, these thoughts are gently carried along on a stream.
No need to chase them away or hold on to them. Simply watching. They may even disappear on their own. If you find that you've become fixated on a particular thought or demand, notice how or what took you away from just observing and noticing, then gently bring your attention back to awareness and any thoughts. It's normal to find yourself becoming stuck with a thought. Your only task is to bring your awareness back to observation.
When you are ready, return to your breathing after this thought observation exercise. Gentle, even breaths. In fact, see how gently and evenly you can breathe. Open your eyes. if you'd like, you can write your thoughts down about your experience in a journal or your smartphone. Do this exercise daily or as needed. It can help with anxiety, sadness, anger or anytime you feel overwhelmed in your life.
If you are already working on improving your mental health with counseling and therapy, you can ask your therapist to help you learn to practice mindfulness. Most psychologists and psychotherapists are able to support you with your healing goals, which may include learning to practice mindfulness.
About Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness Manhattan
Kimberly Seelbrede, LCSW is a New York State licensed Psychotherapist, EMDR Practitioner and Couple Therapist with a private practice in New York City, Montana and virtually. As a wellness psychotherapist and holistic consultant, she has receive advanced, extensive training in Trauma Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Nutrition & Integrative Medicine For Mental Health. She is passionate about honoring the exquisite interplay of the mind-body connection. Kimberly Seelbrede specializes in anxiety & mood disorders, trauma and women’s mental health. She brings over 20 years of counseling, coaching, and healing experience to her holistic practice and transformational work.
In addition to online therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship struggles, Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness offers a wide variety of online services to fit the needs of busy professionals. New Yorkers often lead fast-paced and complex lives, which makes work-life balance and managing career, family and social obligations a challenge. Psychotherapy and wellness practices provides the support to help clients cultivate resources, resilience and enhanced emotional health, as well as uncover conflicts and obstacles that may interfere with having the life they desire.