I have been doing my own self-appointed therapy sessions consisting of an hour to 90 minutes of learning about Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
This DBT therapy has self-help books, worksheets and many skillful workbook tools that one can do and immediately begin to apply new beneficial knowledge to daily life.
Personally, I am finding the benefits of emotional control and learning to be a new medical and science experience particularly for my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am coming into my own 5 senses of what was and appreciating there uses in my daily.
PTSD is a disorder that can heighten the sensitivities of: smell, taste, touch, sound and sight. The brain reacts normally to traumatic experiences by allowing a trauma survivor the internal necessary chemical and brain processes to survive the trauma that produces un-natural stresses.
The body and brain react to this traumatic stress by overproducing internally whatever it has to escalate to help a person survive.
Learning how to desensitize or destress these 5 senses along with the brain and body reactions can seem almost medically impossible to do.
What will work medically for one person will not work for another patient of the same medical condition. I have benefited more medically by researching and learning new skills than I have ever felt resolution from medical treatments, prescription medications and alternative methods of therapy no matter how much money I spent or continue to spend - I still am no closer to tolerable resolution that I want and desire to have.
I have tried many doctors, specialists and tests and paid more money than anyone should have to endure and survive from a trauma. But it does happen. Trauma will past. Medical conditions can improve and even if they do not get reversed as I have seizures and know that sometimes, there is no resolution but only peace to be made with a medical condition. But I do believe that new life can be given for the 5 senses and to help the brain and decrease the body functions and erratic chemical processes after trauma. I am finding this in DBT to work for me.
The premise of DBT is best stated that the human brain is 1 organ with 3 internal operating minds. The Reasonable Mind is 1. Wise Mind is 2. Emotional Mind is 3.
The brain can not function to the maximum potential it have to give a person unless all 3 minds are in equal balance. PTSD and many other medical conditions can be considered emotional disorders - anxiety disorders- behavior disorder with extreme shifts of a person's mental, physical and emotional well being from the external stimuli that can trigger the harsh side effects of PTSD produced primarily by the 5 senses. Avoidance is the usual prognosis given to PTSD patients or complex PTSD patients. Depending on who you talk to or seek help from then the PTSD treatment and classification will be different. But universally the common link of PTSD is the 5 primary senses of sight, smell, touch or feel, hear, and taste. With extreme PTSD, even nightmares invade sleep quality increasing sleep deprivation. Daily stresses of intentional or nonintentional overtones can be detrimental to anyone who has PTSD. I have been all the above.
In doing educational research, I accept that genetically I have a personality of Emotions as 50% of my brain thinking. The Jung Personality Typology Test revealed this and from the experiences of my life - I can accept this as truth about me.
Many professionals and experts have being using IQ - EQ - Personality and different assessment testings to help a person know where they are best catered to be career at or what vocational training would be in their best interest of their personality, mental, medical, rational, logical, emotional and educational fluency to apply knowledge for employment. The study of Emotional Intelligence does focus on building a logical stance to emotions to profressional get ahead. By training managers, supervisors and employees in Emotional Intelligence the social, moral, and enlightening will help the many stressed out individuals on payroll. This knowledge I have learned on but could never fully grasp to personal application. I would try it, read it, indulge in it but it was never beneficial to me as too much application was applied to employment and not for those with medical conditions that impaired their 5 senses and emotional tolerance levels of daily stress without employment.
I do understand all the concepts of assessments and see all the above as major contributors to social function in all civilization especially in the profressional field. But I wanted something more and felt that the building blocks I needed to grasp my own 5 senses and perhaps reprogram them - did exist. I just had to keep looking.
You would never demand someone who can not hear to answer a standard telephone. You would never demand someone who can not see to drive students every day. Why would we expect others to function in a standard range with invisible medical disorders in the same manner then? Why must some medical tools used only for certain classifications? Imagine the possibilities medically if universal applications could be applied? What if the boundaries of the tools we have to use in the medical industry could be applied to various diagnosis instead of standard applications that the medical industry does appear to do?
I understand the importance of continous learning and appreciate this so much more as an adult now.
The applying of new knowledge, new education, new research and new visions - life will continually change so why not stay on top of the game of life by learning something new to help you as a tool.
I firmly believe in the positive aspects of my life have strictly came from learning and never stopping. I also believe that lessons of mistakes teach us why we need to keep learning. If for no other reason we must keep learning is to prevent the same mistakes or errors from happening twice.
The majority of individuals who seek college or specialized training do have opportunities to increase their knowledge and formal skills to apply to the direct employment in which they seek.
Social, mental, psychological, financial and community values are taught in most college courses as tools for the occupation sought in itself. They teach the balance of how to function at work as well as building blocks for home.
High school students and those who even graduate with only a high school education will never receive this teaching due to the vast information that they must teach to produce the end results to acquire more college student enrollments. So for those who have only a high school education - they are not only missing out the higher education to seek higher employment and financial benefits of life but they miss out on the core components of education about life that is directly taught in college too.
High school basically teaches why you need college and reinforces the importance of it. But until one goes to college and seeks their profession, it can be hard to have the life skills that one does need without college or to receive an effective medical intervention that positively works.
I was not a college graduate but from working with many who were. Our lifestyles did represent an opposition of certain elements. For those who attended college were more prone to be chosen for promotions and socially and emotionally more balanced than the counter parts of the employees I knew, like me - who had only a high school education graduation.
I now know why I do not need the formal education anymore and will not ponder seeking it for now. But the exact education I needed was not formal education of college as many others needed to live, survive and experience life. Personally for me - as an emotional person by nature and traumatic nurture survivor, I require a different kind of learning and skills before I could ever hope to compete, thrive and function in a social world that can not comprehend medically challenged individuals as myself. I know that without more skills, tools, and useful knowledge of getting grasp on my medical conditions; that my health limits could not take the stresses, pressures and the extreme hardships that my medical symptoms produce upon me.
It would not be wise for any employer to hire me and it would not be fair of me to be employed in any position that I could not medically commit nor meet objectives to a position either.
With PTSD - I accept what this condition does and has did and how it affects me now. I do enjoy life and feel excessively with all my 5 senses more intensely than probably most could ever feel about life. I enjoy socializing with others and sharing life too.
I am sure that's why many addicts choose to use substances to enhance their 5 senses and to lower their brain inhibitions - as most addicted substances do give users that high of high and that supreme feeling good.
Mine comes internally naturally. Mine also reacts adversely to many prescriptions medications that helps others but only makes my symptoms worse and external triggers. Mine also makes my crash and burns more frequent than those who drink and say who have a nasty feeling sick hangover too. But it's comparable to what some will do for life's highs and how others wants to seek medical help to slow their un-natural super highs that come biochemically and neurological or autonomically.
PTSD is all the above produced by traumatic circumstances. I needed this learning to reprogram the operation of my 5 senses.
Once a brain or body becomes accustomed to reacting, acting, and manifesting the information that comes from the 5 senses - it is very hard to distinguish or even stop the harmful side effects produced by PTSD and the brain casting off the damage done by trauma. It's kindly ironic that the very brain and body that saved a person through trauma are the same organs that will alter your medical life after the trauma ends just to still survive. It is sad that the advancements, technology and medical experts can not rapidly develop the quick fix solutions for traumas. But they can not. But no patient of any circumstance or medical condition of life should ever feel bad, ashamed or in despair because the solution hasn't came yet. It will come if you keep trying to seek that of what you want for you.
The biggest thing about any medical conditions or life in general is to remember this about your self and others: "I may not have caused all of my own problems, but I need to solve them anyway."
There is still more that we can do independently and work toward together too. We have nothing but time to lose and everything to gain by constantly trying to learn new tools and skills.
I share these tools that are working positively for me.
To accept the notion that the human brain is made up of 3 minds is enlightening itself. To know that we have the power to control our internal when we learn new tools and skills to do it is truly amazing.
To achieve the most potential of one's own brain means that one must learn how to use all 3 minds together versus being dominant in one versus the other.
The daily activities of DBT that focus on Observation - Description and Participation without being judgmental is even a word challenge in itself - which I enjoy the most.The new I am gaining of experiencing life through DBT makes everything I do and achieve as a new adventure and word play games. But I am experiencing a new interaction of life with my 5 senses that I have never known in my entire life even with the best of hopeful medical treatments available.
I will give one example and leave you with the following for additional references - if you choose to learn more about the positives of DBT.
The example I will use is manually washing dishes. I am sure most people immediately get in dread or aggravation mode or sometimes even angry when having to manually wash dishes especially if washing dishes means it takes time you away from you or prevents you from socializing with those in your home or guests that may visit.
The chore of taking your rings off your fingers so they won't poke holes in rubber gloves - if you wear gloves to do manual dishes. Scrubbing greasy pots and pans. Telling children and teenagers that it will be good for them to know how to manually wash dishes and just pass the chore off to them so you can get a kitchen break. Hearing the disgruntled battles of "I did them last time" or "Now it is your turn" battles that go on in families who have no luxuries of a dishwasher. Manual washing dishes is the only solution to having a clean plate or clean spoon to eat with. Consider it as bathing your dirty dishes:) I do not own a dishwasher so manual is what my home must do.
I have been angry, upset, mad, frustrated, and even extremely upset at times when cooking a large, huge homemade meal - that took me an hour to prepare and then having to do dishes because no one will be kind enough to do them for me. I figured why should I be kind to prepare a great meal for us all when no one will be kind to repay by doing dishes or why verbally argue when I can just do them myself. Thisdoes get tiresome from an emotional perspective over littlest of things.
The rules of people putting food in the sink in their dirty dishes irritated me to no end. As if emptying their leftovers into the trash was a hard chore. No, they insisted at times of putting in these super sticky and stinky dirty dishes in the sink for me to scrap out when I done dishes.
Worst was when my daughter would carry the dishes into her room and return them to the sink as unidentifiable content. I have trashed many dishes in my day of this horrid truth that she did do because I would be fearful to wash them not trusting that any bleach nor dishwashing liquid would truly kill the germs of whatever she had harboring in her room of dirty dishes. Now I do daily checks to stop this.
But in doing dishes a few days ago and applying the new DBT of Mindfulness to Observe - Describe and Participate without judgment - this was my first real task of applying my new learned skills.
I used my left hand to turn on the room temperature plastic hot water knob on. I used my left hand to TOUCH & FEEL the cold, ice water that turned to warm and then slowly progressed to hot water.
It took a few minutes to fill up the sink as the stream of the water had been decreased from full maximum stream by decreasing the cut-off water valves under the sink to conserve on the costs of per gallon water bill.
By decreasing the stream flow, even when someone turns it wide open, it only flows enough to fill up a glass of water without wasting excess water and it had decreased this utility bill too.
As I stood there waiting, I didn't focus on judgment or emotions. I only thought of focus on the now that was occurring. I was determined to only Observe, Participate and describe without judgment. Mostly I wanted to zone in on my 5 senses of application and see what would happen.
I SAW the white fluffy looking bubbles begin to grow larger while the water filled up past the few plastic blue and metal cereal bowls that were in the water.
I then closed my eyes and LISTENED to the sounds of the rising water changing tones with splashes against the metal sink as the water was rising. I listened to the SOUND of the stream hitting the bubbles, the bowls squishing and the sound of the volume of water against a brown metal sink. I opened my eyes and smiled while I reached out to turn the now warm temperature of the hot water knob off.
I stood there and I put my hands in the white fluffy bubbles atop the bowls. I used my hands to touch the bubbles and feel the layers that had formed of the bubbles and on top of the water. The water was hot. I saw the steam rising.
I closed my eyes again and took several deep breaths. With each breath I took, I inhaled as if these SCENTS I was inhaling would be the last of my life. The flower smell of the dishwashing liquid was refreshing - relaxing and nice aroma.
I stood there sniffing with my eyes closed. Thinking nothing but flowers - roses - honeysuckle - and tulips. I noticed my mouth increasing in saliva at my thoughts of wanting to TASTE honeysuckle! That's what my dishwashing liquid smelled like and I never noticed before even though, I have been using it for years. I liked the degrease that it was marketed for but never consciously enjoyed the scent of it before now like I did.
I proceeded to wash the bowls creating my own internal dialogue of observing, participating and describing without judging.
As I picked up the blue plastic bowl and using a rough scrubby to scrub it clean. The words of smooth, plastic, blue, dark navy, and white bubbles did come to mind. When I finished cleaning it I put the cleaned bowl into the rinse side of the sink.
I swirled my scrubby around the metal bowl. Shiny, metallic, rough, smooth, white bubbles all came to mind again.
As I laid it in the other side of the sink to let it sit until I rinsed it with cold water, I watched gravity in action on the bowls I had just cleaned.
The metal bowl had equal of white bubbles on it as the blue plastic bowl. The metal bowl bubbles visually appeared to slide off faster than the plastic bubbles. I was in amazement. The words, Bubble Eradication, came to mind as well did, Gravitational Abduction. I couldn't help but to laugh like I never have dpme when doing dishes upon this new DBT technique.
As I continued enjoy each item of washing and rinsing then drying to put away - it was as being a kid reborn, if possible, and a new awakening to my 5 senses and how they register life around me.
The non-judging is the key. It's very hard to be Observe and Participate in everything we do. But especially to describe without being judgmental. That's even hard for me as I am only a 11% judging person by personality but it's hard to use adjectives that are not judgmental, biased and calling a fork a fork of silver, metal, and smooth surface until you consciously become aware of it- is indeed a task itself.
Every day, I spend an hour minimum and 90 minutes maximum on learning and committing to this DBT therapy for myself.
I do enjoy the beneficial challenges that comes from it. I appreciate life so much more. Everything I hear, see, touch or feel, taste or smell is a new day and experiences with my 5 senses since this has began.
Just as I have illustrated by the washing dishes - everything a person does physically and naturally or even socializing with others is new skills to apply. I have never felt more at peace internally. This knowledge is unreal for me and the most beneficial skill I am learning to apply to this specific medical condition.
Where will it go? I do not know. As a writer, I was amazed at how many non-judgmental adjectives I did not know or how much I did lack in description luster that many writers or word gamblers do.
I do not know where it will lead. But I do believe in the science that a human brain does indeed have 3 minds. In being an emotional person of emotional brain dominance all of my life with a high sensitivity of my 5 sense triggering productions due to trauma, I want to learn how to give my other 2 minds some of that burden but in a new light somehow. I want to see if indeed a person can grow and extend the possibilities that can occur when all 3 minds unite. Many more stories of Observing, Participating and non-judging descriptions will continue I am sure. It's verbal fun and new joys to share in verbal writings too.
To each their own tool to find and use in life. If you believe the tool is out there and you have not found it yet, keep looking because you will.
One of my favorite things to remember is that the answer is always out there. Sometimes, we do have to find the question that relays the concerns we want and need for resolution. I do believe DBT is mine and the thing is that medically DBT is usually not used for PTSD patients but for Borderline Personality Disorders. But we all have a threshold that we can safely handle of our stressors, problems, issues and medical disorders.
Sometimes - it does take using a hammer as a manual stapler to put a staple into the wall to create something new. The same can be said about everything medical or in life. When we do not fear using tools as we need to in order to apply them in a positive direction for our life - how could any tool be wrong -as long as it effectively could work?
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of psychotherapy that was originally developed by Marsha M. Linehan, a psychology researcher at the University of Washington, to treat people with borderline personality disorder (BPD).[1][2] DBT combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavior_therapy
Reference below from: http://justrdill7.hubpages.com/hub/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-DBT
There are 3 states of mind in dialectical behavior therapy:
- Reasonable Mind
- Wise Mind
- Emotional Mind
This can be achieved using the four DBT skills I listed previously:
- Mindfulness
- Distress Tolerance
- Emotion Regulation
- Interpersonal Effectiveness
"What Skills":
- Observe - What this skill teaches us is to sit in the moment without leaving a situation or trying to end an emotion. We allow ourselves to experience, in the moment, whatever is happening.
- Describe - You take an experience and you say aloud (or in your head) statements about what you are observing. This skill helps us to stay in the present, and does not allow us to get ahead of ourselves.
- Participate - Participation is about total awareness. It is about being totally present when engaging in an activity. Notice everything about what you are doing and attempt to do it very well.
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