Mindfulness is the technique of simply observing what is happening without any judgment or attempts to change it, and it’s the basis of all of DBT’s acceptance strategies. For our group exercise, we’re instructed to close our eyes and imagine a river flowing past, with leaves floating on the surface. Each leaf is like a thought drifting by. There’s no need to grasp onto the leaves—no need to chase them, and no need to deny their presence. Our job is to let everything pass by, even if it turns out there are severed heads and old tires bobbing by. This isn’t easy. I last maybe three breaths
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