Graduation day from Dbt treatment

Today was the last day of DBT therapy group,  Diabectial Behaviour Therapy designed by Marsha Lineham and being presented through the Hutt DHB.

I have completed a year programme of classes and individual therapy all with the aim of making me a better individual and more skilful able to use my skills to deal with intense emotions instead of acting out in risky behaviour.

I am proud of my achievements as I have had to put in effort to attend every week in the Hutt Valley, for a few hours on a Monday, also participate in class and do my homework practicing the skills I have learnt in class.

I have done this, and I have left with a skill set which I am able to use for the rest of my life.  Totally invaluable and priceless is the information that I have been blessed to receive.

I have covered the modules of Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness going through each of these modules twice, for emphasis so I could get the full sense of what i am learning.

I am pleased to say that in most general situations I can use these skills effectively to decrease my emotional suffering and to gain mastery of my emotions and at other times I know who to contact to receive the support that I need to get through the moment.

I have had one serious incident since I learnt these skills but I also know where things went wrong to turn that event into a serious one. So by analysing my actions in the moment I can see that I was working out of emotional mind instead of wise mind, and there were factors at play that contributed towards this event.

I have found that my relationships have improved due to my using these tools. My folks find that I consider things before i react, and I take time out and sometimes I come back and apologise for my actions after taking time.

I use opposite action a lot of the time, and mindfulness is an everyday occurrence where everything i do i try to spend time embracing the moment. Whether its having a coffee, or having a shower, or doing the dishes, i try to be in the moment and see the moment for what it is in all its forms.

I also try to do what works, and see the diagram in my mind of emotional mind and reasonable mind and then wise mind in the middle, thats the place we need to take our actions from.

Im not perfect but I'm trying to be skillful and with these tools I can be.