Thinking Dialectically

There is so much freedom in clarity.
Image retrieved from:  Freedom Counseling Center
I am not sure who they are, but I like the picture.

Have you ever had a moment of clarity? 

A moment when you learned something that really just made everything click into place? 

I had one of those today, and it’s about really explaining how differently it is that I think from other people.  It explains my jumps from hyper rationality to hyper emotional.  More so then the mindfulness lessons did, although I totally understand why they’re a precursor to this. 

Now, I’m not saying here that I am a super special unique snowflake unicorn or anything.   I mean, of course I am a super special unique snowflake unicorn, but that’s really not the point.   I think a lot of people can lean towards this style of thinking at point or another, but I don’t think a lot of people understand how moderately they do so compared to some.  

So I learned a lot in group therapy today, and in the end I am incredibly glad I went.  Because I almost skipped it.  I was having a marvelous day being cozy in my flannel PJs. I was sitting outside on the balcony with a wonderful cup of Assam (a type of black tea) and reading. 

Truly it was a glorious morning. 

But I pushed myself out of the apartment, I showered and got dressed, I headed down to timmies* for my obligatory tea and a muffin, and I went to group. 

I am glad, because today we learned all about dialectical thinking, what it means, and how it is helpful. 

So what does it mean? 

Well that’s still a really good question, I don’t feel I can do the explanation justice, but I sure am going to try.  I know I’ll eventually be able to run DBT’s myself, because by the time I am finished with this group, and the next group I have to do, I’m going to know these things inside and out.  I’ll be able to explain it as well as Marsha Linehan, the creator of DBT, eventually. 

So let’s back up for a second here.  That last paragraph you just read?  That’s dialectical thinking.  At the beginning of writing it I caught myself in a judgment; which was that I wasn’t going to be able to explain this clearly to you. So I corrected that judgment, understanding my limitations at the present moment, and knowing that I am going to try and learn everything I can so eventually I’ll be so proficient at it that I will be able to teach it.  

I have to say that I think I explained it pretty well, and I look forward to many future dialogues and debates about this topic.  I think it’s pretty cool that DBT is making me excited to learn again.  It’s the type of education that I have always appreciated, it’s teaching me how to think, now what to think, and I can’t tell you how refreshing that is. 

Plus?  I'm kind of awesome.   

 

*for all my non-Canadian readers, timmies, is a colloquial term for Tim Horton’s which is a coffee/donut shop, that has surprisingly good tea.