98 The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook
Exercise: Judgment Defusion
The following Judgment Defusion exercise is designed to help you release or “let go” of your judg-
ments and other obsessive thoughts. In the last chapter, you practiced using the thought defusion
technique as a basic mindfulness exercise. This exercise is very similar. Again, the object is to
watch your judgments arise and then to let go of them without getting stuck on them.
Like thought defusion, judgment defusion also requires the use of your imagination. The
object of this exercise is to visualize your judgments, either as pictures or words, harmlessly floating
away from you without obsessing about them or analyzing them. Whichever way you choose to do
this is okay. If you used a technique in the last chapter that worked, use it again here. If you need a
new visualization technique, here are just a few suggestions that other people have found helpful:
Imagine sitting in a field watching your judgments float away on clouds. Picture yourself sitting beside a stream watching your judgments float past on leaves. Picture yourself standing in a room with two doors; then watch your judgments
enter through one door and leave through the other.If one of these ideas works for you, that’s great. If not, feel free to create your own. Just be
sure that your idea captures the purpose of this exercise, which is to visually watch your judgments
come and go without holding on to them and without analyzing them.
Before you begin this exercise, review the records you filled out for the Negative Judgments
exercise and the Beginner’s Mind exercise, in order to refamiliarize yourself with some of the judg-
ments you’ve made over the last few weeks. You can even keep these records near you so you can
refer to them if you have trouble remembering any of your recent judgments. During the exercise,
you will close your eyes and imagine whichever visualization technique you’ve chosen. Then you’ll
watch your past judgments (and any new judgments) come into your thoughts and float away,
without you getting stuck on them.
Read the instructions before beginning the exercise to familiarize yourself with the experi-
ence. If you feel more comfortable listening to the instructions, use an audio-recording device
to record the instructions in a slow, even voice so you can listen to them while practicing this
technique. When you are first using judgment defusion, set a kitchen timer or an alarm clock for
three to five minutes and practice letting go of your thoughts until the alarm goes off. Then, as
you get more accustomed to using this technique, you can set the alarm for longer periods of time,
like eight to ten minutes.
Instructions
To begin, find a comfortable place to sit in a room where you won’t be disturbed for as long as
you’ve set your timer. Turn off any distracting sounds. Take a few slow, long breaths, relax, and close
your eyes.