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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permission 
to photocopy this handout is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details). distress tolerance Handout 15   (Distress Tolerance Worksheets 8, 8a, 12)
mindfulness of c urrent Thoughts
1. oBS erve your T hou GhTS.
••As waves, coming and going.
••Not suppressing thoughts.
••Not judging thoughts.
••Acknowledging their presence.
••Not keeping thoughts around.••Not analyzing thoughts.
••Practicing willingness.
••Stepping back and observing 
thoughts as they run in and out of your mind.
2. aD opT a curiou S min D.
••Ask, “Where do my thoughts come from?” Watch and see.
••Notice that every thought that comes also goes out of your mind.
••Observe but do not evaluate your thoughts. Let go of judgments.
3. remem Ber: y ou are no T your T hou GhTS.
••Do not necessarily act on thoughts.
••Remember times when you have had very different thoughts.
••Remind yourself that catastrophic thinking is “emotion mind.”
••Remember how you think when you are not feeling such intense suffering and pain.
4. Don’ T Block or S uppre SS T hou GhTS.
••Ask, “What sensations are these thoughts trying to avoid?” Turn your mind to the sensation. Then come back to the thought. Repeat several times.
••Step back; allow your thoughts to come and go as you observe your breath.