DBT Skills: Wise Mind, Emotional Mind and Reasonable Mind

Wise Mind is a core dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) mindfulness skill. In DBT, wise mind is one of three states of minds we can operate out of. Through wise mind we can access our inner wisdom and intuition, but in order to comprehend what we mean by wide mind, it’s helpful to first understand the other two states of mind, reasonable mind, and emotional mind, also known as simple emotion mind. Watch the video below to learn more:

DBT Skills: Wise Mind, Emotion Mind and Reasonable Mind

Reasonable mind is our traditional thinking state of mind. It’s our practical and pragmatic, logical and rational, task-and rule-oriented way of thinking grounded in facts and reason.

Emotion mind is the opposite of reasonable mind. Emotion mind isn’t necessarily unreasonable, but it is not reasonable in the sense that it doesn’t rely on reason. It is not concerned with facts or logic. When we’re in emotion mind we’re governed by our moods, emotions and how we’re feeling. We act based on the urges that arise from our emotional state, rather on any sort of thought out plan.

Wise mind is the synthesis of reasonable mind and emotional mind. It’s where these two states of mind overlap. It takes into account both the rational and emotion, our logic and our feelings. It’s practical and sensitive to how we feel. It’s lets us see the whole picture and think and act in ways that are reasonable while remaining true to ourselves and our nature.

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