The Power of Vulnerability
Brene Brown says this is not weakness, but the birthplace of joy, creativity, and connection.
What is vulnerability?
This DBT mind state is ruled by feelings, urges, and the 'heat of the moment'
What is the emotional mind?
This person served in the military
Who is Kevin?
Dr. Mate says addiction isn't a choice or disease, but a desperate attempt to soothe this deep human need wounded in childhood.
What is connection/need for attachment?
This grounding technique uses 5 things you see, 4 you touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
What is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique?
Brown defines this as the intensly painful feeling we're unworthy of love & belonging, different from guilt.
What is Shame?
This DBT mind state focuses solely on facts, logic, and cool detached analysis.
What is the rational mind?
This person once stated that they loved to read as a child.
Who is Heather?
This core childhood trauma outcome feeling "I must hide my pain to be loved" -drives what Mate calls 'loss of authenticity".
What is development of false self (or adaptation vs conforming)
Focusing intently on the sensations of your breath moving in and out is this type of grounding.
What is mindful breathing? (or breath awareness)
According to Brown, people with strong connection have this, allowing them to fully embrace vulnerability.
What is worthiness? (Or what is a strong sense of love and belonging)
The ideal DBT mind state that integrates emotion and reason for effective decisions.
What is the Wise Mind?
This person's primary reasons for sobriety are his health,ex wife, and daughter.
Who is Michael?
Mate argues early trauma rewires this brain system, making it hypersensitive to threat and impairing emotional regulation.
What is the stress response system? (or limbic system or amygdala/HPA axis)
Holding an ice cube (or dipping your face in ice cold water for 30 sec) or touching textures utilizes this sensory system (smell, sight, etc)
What is sense of touch?
Brown calls these behaviors we use to avoid vulnerability, like perfectionism or numbing.
What are shields? (or what is armor)
Wise mind is often described as the synthesis of Reasonable Mind and this other state.
What is the Emotional Mind?
This person's main check in (high) is "they got off of work"
Who is Keith?
Mate says society askes "Why the addiction?" but rarely asks this deeper question about pain.
Why the pain? (His mantra, "Don't ask why the addiction, ask why the pain)
Mentally taking a moment to focus on your emotions while engaging in an exercise to calm the senses.
What is grounding?
Brown says this quality, involving kindness to oneself, is essential for vulnerability and resilience.
What is self compassion?
Accessing Wise mind often involves tuning into physical sensations or using this type of awareness practice.
What is Mindfulness?
From perception, this person has had more girlfriends than a sultan?
Who is John?
True healing, per Mate, requires seeing addiction not as pathology (the science of) but as a person's adaptive attempt to do this. (Think- what is it our brain is TRYING to do)
What is survive?
This grounding technique involves systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.
What is progressive muscle relaxation?