I’m been working on DBT skill by myself from a book. I did develop some coping skills to help my issues. However I been trying these mind exercises , there some I like and some I don’t like. Do you need to every exercise in the book or can you choose which one work best for you?
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@Metalskater1990 Keep in mind that I’m not a professional, so this is only my personal opinion… Someone else will probably have a different opinion.
I’m surprised it doesn’t say in the book how long or when to do the exercises or if you need to do them all. It’s usually somewhere in self help books but even when it is, it’s easy to forget and it can be hard to find again unless you remember about how far into the book you read it. To be honest, all I can really say is that you should probably do the ones you don’t like for about a week to see if they help you. Even things you don’t like doing can be helpful in the long run, but you won’t know unless you keep at it. At the same time, be vigilant that they aren’t triggering you. That’s the only thing with self help books, is that you can be triggered into a bad response and then you might not have anyone to help you out of it. I’m glad to see it’s helping you develop some coping skills.
~Daisy 
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I’d say it depends on how the book has been made, if there is clearly a kind of progression intended with the book as long as you keep reading, or if it’s separated chapters.
More generally, and it’s only my opinion: pick what works best for you and what makes sense to you. A book, even if there are exercises in it, is like a tool. It is supposed to be something you can appropriate for yourself, depending on where you are on your own journey. If there are exercises that doesn’t make sense for you right now, I’d say put them aside. Doesn’t mean you won’t ever go back to it, but maybe it’s not something that would be useful to you or maybe it’s just not the right moment. And maybe it would be actually interesting for you to think about why you don’t like it right now and if you feel like it would be worth it to work on that. It really depends on how you feel, how much curious you are to try new things and what makes sense to you right now.
Again, it’s only how I see reading in general, so it might not be the right perspective for you either.
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Hi there! I’m learning DBT in an intensive outpatient program. Lectures by trained therapists. Definitely don’t feel you have to do everything especially the first time through!! Focus on the most relevant for you at this time. But do try to get the wise mind concept. For me, that is where I connect with Christ.
I struggle with bipolar 1 disorder. Especially the depression. Only certain skills really speak to me right now but I’m getting something out of it so press on!
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