Beyond Medication Community Group
In this group we will be looking at alternative or supplementary methods of dealing with every day stressors and anxiety. This is for people who do not want to feel as though they do not want to be tied to the medicine cabinet. We will be using such techniques as mindfulness, meditation, grounding, guided imagery, Yoga and other behavioral and self-discipline techniques...
Here is an exercise that will specifically help you to increase your ability to concentrate and remember.
Choose an object to focus your attention on. This could be an everyday item like a pen or pencil, or it could be something that you don't pay a attention to- example, a snow globe that you have since you were a child that sits on the shelf. It's something that's always there, but you have never really looked closely at it. Using all your senses, begin examining the object. Look at it closely, like you've never seen it before. Touch it. Was it feel like? What are the different textures to it? Are there different textures to it? Is it smooth, rough, were rigid? Just observe the object without judging it. See if it makes noise you can listen to or if it has an order you can smell. It's a food, taste it as best you can, experience the object has a you have never seen it before, and when you notice that your attention wanders from the object, gently bring your attention back.
We often get involved in stories of things, as well so be aware if this starts to happen. You may still be thinking about the object, but instead of observing it you begin to think about where it came from, where it was made, the person who made it, and how it ends up in your possession. This is no longer mindfulness, because you are no longer in the present moment with the object but are caught up in the thinking about its past. If this happens, just notice and bring your attention back to observing.
This is another exercise's out of the DBT workbook for bipolar disorder.
I hope you guys find this helpful and useful in your recovery.
The Wolf
Choose an object to focus your attention on. This could be an everyday item like a pen or pencil, or it could be something that you don't pay a attention to- example, a snow globe that you have since you were a child that sits on the shelf. It's something that's always there, but you have never really looked closely at it. Using all your senses, begin examining the object. Look at it closely, like you've never seen it before. Touch it. Was it feel like? What are the different textures to it? Are there different textures to it? Is it smooth, rough, were rigid? Just observe the object without judging it. See if it makes noise you can listen to or if it has an order you can smell. It's a food, taste it as best you can, experience the object has a you have never seen it before, and when you notice that your attention wanders from the object, gently bring your attention back.
We often get involved in stories of things, as well so be aware if this starts to happen. You may still be thinking about the object, but instead of observing it you begin to think about where it came from, where it was made, the person who made it, and how it ends up in your possession. This is no longer mindfulness, because you are no longer in the present moment with the object but are caught up in the thinking about its past. If this happens, just notice and bring your attention back to observing.
This is another exercise's out of the DBT workbook for bipolar disorder.
I hope you guys find this helpful and useful in your recovery.
The Wolf
as i have noticed from time to time that my mind wanders ...it seems very unusual and bizarre.. so i do this exercise to check it and see if i can train my mind by exercising it...
Anyway, you are supposed to look at objects and imagine you are running your finger around the edge and meanwhile slowly draw the contour noticing eaching bump and indent.
Ok...not exactly the same but somewhat similar. you are supposed to be able to be able to remember what it looks like so it can be reproduced later (but also it just trains your hand and eye to move together)