Read on Twitter
since we& #39;re talking about coping through the holidays today i wanted to share some skills i& #39;ve learned from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help survive stressful/crisis situations
*i am not a therapist, and this does not substitute for learning from a trained therapist
*i am not a therapist, and this does not substitute for learning from a trained therapist
i think the most helpful set of skills you can learn from DBT is DISTRESS TOLERANCE: these are not going to fix anything about your situation, but they will help you make it to the next moment when it feels impossible to survive
a lot of these skills seem straightforward and obvious but i can tell you from experience that it& #39;s incredibly difficult to think of them in the moment, let alone actually use them. most of the time i want to shut down rather than do something skillful
the skill my therapist teaches first because it is one of the easiest ones to prepare for is self soothing. i now have a box in my bedroom where i store materials to help me self soothe so i can access them easily in a crisis. here are some examples of self soothing
distracting is another huge skill for me. to be quite honest the one i use most is pushing away, which can also be called a vacation: i simply take a nap when i& #39;m feeling too emotionally charged to function. there are lots of other examples of distracting
the last skill i wanted to share is called TIP and they focus on using biological responses to help you regulate your emotions.
