Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

This involves being fully present in the moment and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. Mindfulness helps you observe your experiences and emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them. Improving you Mindfulness skills is improves the effectiveness of the other key components of DBT Therapy.

Imagine you're scrolling through your phone. You're probably not really paying attention to what's going on around you, you're kind of on autopilot. Mindfulness is the opposite of that.

In DBT, mindfulness is about paying attention to what's happening right now, in this very moment, without judging it or trying to change it. It's like hitting the pause button on your autopilot.

Mindfulness is about:

• Observing: Noticing what's going on around you and inside you (your thoughts, feelings, and what your body is feeling).
• Describing: Putting words to what you're noticing. Like, "I'm feeling my heart racing" or "I'm thinking about that test tomorrow."
• Participating: If you're doing something, like walking or eating, really focus on doing just that one thing. The key is to do all of this without judging yourself. So, if you notice you're thinking about something stressful, you don't beat yourself up about it. You just notice the thought and gently bring your attention back to the present moment.

Mindfulness is like a superpower that helps you stay grounded and in control, even when things get tough.

Managing Emotions: When you're mindful, you can see your emotions coming and going without getting totally overwhelmed by them.

Dealing with Stress: Mindfulness can help you handle stressful situations without doing something you'll regret later.

Getting Along With Others: When you're present in a conversation, you're more likely to really listen and understand what the other person is saying.

Examples of Mindfulness

Paying attention to your breath: Just notice the feeling of the air going in and out of your body.

Really tasting your food: Instead of just scarfing it down, pay attention to the flavors and textures.

Taking a mindful walk: Notice the feeling of your feet on the ground, the sounds around you, and the sights you see. Don't be on your phone.

Distress tolerance in DBT is all about learning how to handle really tough emotions and situations without making things worse. It's like building up your emotional strength so you can get through difficult times in a healthy way.

Think about it this way:

• Distress: This is when you're feeling super overwhelmed by emotions like sadness, anger, anxiety, or frustration. It's that feeling like you just can't take it anymore.
• Tolerance: This is your ability to handle those intense feelings without doing something impulsive or harmful, like lashing out at someone, self-harming, or using substances.

Distress Tolerance Skills in DBT

Our DBT therapists work with you to develop a toolbox of strategies you can use to cope with difficult moments. They're designed to help you:

• Survive Crises: When you're in the middle of a really tough situation, these skills can help you get through it without making it worse.
• Accept Reality: Sometimes, bad things happen that we can't change. Distress tolerance helps you accept those things and find ways to cope.
• Manage Emotions: These skills can help you dial down the intensity of your emotions so you can think more clearly and make better decisions.

Examples of Distress Tolerance Skills

• Distraction: Finding healthy ways to take your mind off things temporarily, like listening to music, watching a funny video, or spending time with a friend.
• Self-soothing: Doing things that comfort and calm you, like taking a warm bath, listening to relaxing music, or spending time in nature.
• Improving the moment: Finding small ways to make the present moment a little bit better, like lighting a candle, drinking a cup of tea or hot cocoa, or stretching.
• Radical acceptance: Accepting reality as it is, even if you don't like it or it's totally unreasonable. This doesn't mean you have to be happy about it, but it means you stop fighting against it.

Emotional Regulation in DBT Therapy is learning how to manage your feelings in a healthy way so they don't control you. It's about understanding your emotions, reducing their intensity when they're overwhelming, and changing them when they're causing problems.

Emotional Regulation includes understanding your emotions, taking care of yourself, and using skills to cope with difficult moments.

Think of your emotions like the volume on your phone while you're listening to music. Sometimes the volume is just right, but other times it's way too loud or too quiet. Emotional Regulation is about learning how to adjust the volume of an emotion so you can enjoy life without it being overwhelmed.

Understand your emotions: This means being able to identify what you're feeling, why you're feeling it, and what those feelings make you want to do. It's like becoming a detective of your own emotions.

Reduces your emotional vulnerability: This is about taking care of yourself physically and mentally so you're less likely to get overwhelmed by your emotions in the first place. This includes things like:

• Getting enough sleep,
• Eating healthy meals,
• Exercising regularly, and
• Avoiding drugs and alcohol

Decrease emotional suffering: This is about using skills to manage intense emotions in the moment. Some examples include: Mindfulness: Paying attention to your emotions without judgment. Distress tolerance: Finding healthy ways to cope with difficult emotions.

Opposite action: Doing the opposite of what your emotions are telling you to do (e.g., if you feel like isolating yourself, reach out to a friend).