The fact area of your mind creates thoughts that focus only on the task that needs to be done and the things it can observe. For example, your fact mind can look out the window and see that the thermometer says thirty degrees. When it’s thirty degrees outside, your thoughts tell you to wear a jacket. This is a helpful thought because it keeps us safe.
The feeling mind area creates thoughts that focus only on feelings, moods, and getting what you want. Your feeling mind is where your wants and opinions come from. For example, Daniel looks out the window, sees the thermometer, knows it’s cold and thinks, Yeah! I get to wear my new jacket. I want to go outside and play. Daniel is mixing together facts and his feelings to make a helpful decision. Christopher might look out the same window, see the thermometer, know it’s cold, and think, Yuck! I hate my new jacket. I don’t want to go outside. I’d rather go back to bed. Daniel and Christopher both know it’s cold, but they have different wants and opinions about wearing their jackets. These different opinions come from Daniel’s and Christopher’s distinct feeling minds.
Your full mind includes both the facts and your feelings and is where they come together to help you make helpful decisions. In the example above, when Daniel looked out the window and saw it was cold (fact mind), his thought about needing to wear a jacket in order to be safe was a helpful thought—it helped him be able to go outside and have fun. For Christopher, his thought about not liking his jacket and not wanting to go outside because of it stopped him from having fun.A DBT-Based Skills Workbook to Help Children Manage Mood Swings, Control Angry Outbursts, and Get Along with Others