Emotion Regulation · DBT skill
Mindfulness of Current Emotion
Mindfulness of Current Emotion is letting yourself feel an emotion as it is, without pushing it away or making it bigger, until it passes.
The steps
- Notice what you're doing with the feeling: pushing it down? Working it up?
- Stop. Hands open. Don't suppress, don't amplify.
- Let the feeling be what it is. It's not asking permission.
- Stay until you notice it's already changing. Then stay a little longer.
When it helps
When you're either suppressing it or amplifying it.
An example
After a hard phone call, sadness comes up and the instinct is to scroll until it goes away. Instead, someone sits, notices the heaviness in their chest, and lets it rise and fall without adding to it. After a few minutes it has already started to ease.
Where people get stuck
- Mistaking it for wallowing. You notice the emotion without feeding it with more thoughts about why it's happening.
- Waiting for it to leave. The aim is to experience it, not to make it go away faster.
- Judging yourself for feeling it. Notice the judgment and let it go, too.
When not to use it
When an emotion is so intense you can't stay with it safely. Use TIPP or another crisis survival skill first.
Related skills
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