Dialectical Behavioral Therapy/Core Mindfulness Skills/Observe

Observe: is simply experiencing with awareness your feelings, your thoughts, and sensations directly without the use of words.

The ability to observe yourself requires an ability to step back from yourself. This process of stepping back, also called Teflon Mind, is a way to re-orient to the present moment. Teflon mind is based on the idea of the non-stick cooking surface to which food does not stick. Teflon Mind allows you to not get stuck.

Preoccupation, rumination, and distraction are some of the ways people get stuck. Observe is important because it helps you become like a blank slate upon which you can write.