"Pause. Breathe. Repeat."  An entry about remembering to take my own advice. And some household tools for remembering your calm and focus in the midst of a very challenging transition.  

I haven't been writing here in a regular way for ages.  Real life occupies my mind, time, and energy so much.  Here's what I'm doing now:

What is my problem!? I wondered, from the midst of a low day.  I scribbled my way through it, through the lens of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).

My "problem" isn't my brain - at least, not in the same way as - my emotions. Big. Overwhelming. In-My-Body feelings. And in response to those big feelings I do something. Usually something unhealthy, or in DBT-speak, something Ineffective.

It's Ineffective because it blocks my route to my Goals.  My Goals come from my Values. Although... these days it feels like my Goals are being adopted and incorporated from the naturopath and my dismal health numbers. It feels a little backwards. My Goals are actually determining my Values.  They're good Values - Health, Longevity, Fitness.  They just didn't start in me.  

​Priorities and Values can change with time and circumstances and new or renewed insights. For a long time, with L, my Value was survival. While at my last job it became Interpersonal Effectiveness. That continues in my current position, though I have some mastery of it now, relying on my good manners plus prompt response time. But the Naturopath and my numbers indicate that my Value needs to be Physical Health. 

I've never been an athlete.  And it's a very long time - 15 years or more? - since I felt strongly connected to my body. I do experience my strong emotions in my body.  But then I tend to do something external to try and change how I feel emotionally. Eat. Smoke. Watch TV.  

Mindfulness, I guess, is the tool or skill for acknowledging the big emotions in my body, then letting them pass, while I remain present in my body. In my senses and physical sensations.  The Wise Mind process is how I sort out what's going on and choose actions that are Effective for body and emotions. Effective for my Value of physical health. 

And... this scribble suggests... my Value of Emotional Integrity...