Good morning @CheerBear and everyone else, 
Your post-it note super made me giggle @CheerBear. I have a super funny picture in my brain of you running around like an energizer bunny going "we're up to the doing bit, we're up to the doing bit, we're up to the doing bit...er...how do we do the doing bit Phoenix_Rising?" 
I have been sidelined by, well, life for the past couple of weeks, but I am moving back into a headspace to continue this adventure now. My aim is to have the next bit of the adventure appear here on Monday. Stay tuned! {Wanders off to DBT headquarters to find that pesky little energizer-carebear.}. 
@CheerBear& @SGde3aI too have been wary of glossy quick fixes and buzzwords like mindfulness.
One thing that I like is that DBT tries to be comprehensive, detailed and thorough. I get that there can be ulterior motives and big money when medicare partially funds many programs ... etc ... but if there are benefits I would like to know them. We dont want to throw bubs out with the bathwater.
@Phoenix_Rising I think this thread is a fantastic idea, so when life stops interfering. I'd like to hear more of your discussions and examples.
I think @SGde3a point of the limit in crafting our own emotion is very relevant. There are realities outside our experience that matter.
Sometimes too much self control can be pathological or interpreted by others in social settings as showing insuficient enthusiasm or effort. I have been seen like that .. and then some dude thinks he has a right to play resident stirrer. Cept for as a lil ole lady I am wising up to those dudes and dish it up back to them. Not sure if Martha met as many stirrers as we have here in our country. Maybe we can copyright a new improved Aussie version.
Social settings are always made up by different individuals and are rarely completely static.
Sorry I waffle on ...
Good afternoon DBT adventurers,
As you alluded to @Appleblossom life is getting in the way a little in my world at the moment, but I am hoping my brain is working enough to say something vaguely intelligible.
@SGde3a It is super nice to see you here. I agree with all that @CheerBear has said and I'm not sure that I have much to add.
I guess you could say DBT is an extension of CBT. That is, it includes many of the same techniques as CBT but it also has a focus on mindfulness. So, while CBT is very much about changing thoughts and feelings, DBT is PARTLY about that, but also partly about learning to sit with very big feelings at times.The skills training component that we are working through here in Forum Land is only one part of DBT (the other parts being individual therapy and telephone support).
There is certainly debate both in philosophy and psychology about whether personality is changeable or not. I haven't quite made up my mind where I sit in this debate yet - I can see and appreciate the arguments for both sides. Perhaps that is the very dialectic that Linehan is talking about when she says we are 100% ok just as we are and yet we also need to work at changing.
You mentioned @SGde3a that you are happy to look at anything that suggests it will definitely cure people. There is certainly no such guarantee with DBT. DBT does have a high success rate of treating BPD in the sense that many people after completing DBT no longer meet diagnostic criteria for BPD. But whether that means they are "cured" or not would be a matter of debate. Indeed, the whole concept of cure is grounded in the medical model, which I personally do not subscribe to in the way I conceptualise BPD.
I totally agree with you @SGde3a that targeting the cause of a person's issues is super important. I am desperately trying to find a therapist who will help me do that, thus far without success. I know that the DBT skills are not going to help me unmuddle my muddle. However, they help me to stay alive, and staying alive is a prerequisite to me ever finding the elusive therapist who will hopefully help me to address the cause of my muddles. Therefore, even though the DBT skills won't help me address the core issues, they are not useless for me.
@Appleblossom It definitely does my head in the way mindfulness has become such a buzz word. I'm sure it is thrown around without being well explained by a lot of people. I am grateful that I encountered the concept years ago before it became so trendy.
I totally agree with you @Appleblossom and @SGde3a that there are realities outside of our own experience that matter. I think for me the important thing is that when I'm in a situation that I have no control over, then being able to at least regulate my emotions enough to stay alive is super important. It's even better if I can regulate enough to feel more ok in the situation.
Anyway, I think my brain power has expired for the moment. Super big thank you for your contributions @Appleblossom and @SGde3a.
Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
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Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
SANE values diversity. We are committed to providing a safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive service for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.