This is really good. Time for a thread. https://twitter.com/gptbr00ke/status/1311680939659943937

When I met my partner, they were into DBT. One of the big takeaways, when you're feeling overwhelmed by something, distract yourself and regulate your emotions.

This sounds nice but I would always think "you're stressed because there's a problem. Distracting yourself doesn't fix your problem"

But I didn't understand the point about thinking at the wrong time.

When you're overwhelmed, the thinking isn't actually productive. A lot of spinning and getting worked up, but not solving the problem.

Enter DBT-type strategy:

First you distract and regulate yourself. Then when clear, you come back to the problem. But now you can actually make progress.

And there's a hidden thing here:

Many times you're overwhelmed, it's not the actual steps to solving the problem that are overwhelming you. It's a cloud of emotions making the problem seem unsolvable.

By regulating your emotion, the problem regains it's actual form and your brain is more productive at solving.