“Fall” into Healthy Coping Skills using DBT
Fall is in the air! Leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and the pumpkin spice flavors have taken over! This also means that holidays are getting closer and days are going to get shorter. Although these events could trigger stress or feelings of being overwhelmed, you can use Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) techniques to help regulate emotions, develop healthy coping skills, and learn how to live in the moment.
DBT is a form of talk therapy that tries to develop acceptance of experiences as well as working through negative behaviors. It was originally intended to treat borderline personality disorder, but today a lot of people are using it to help with emotional regulation. It is effective to help manage a variety of mental health diagnoses from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder to the reduction of risky behavior in teens. In fact, its founder, Marcia Linehan says the overall goal is “to help individuals change behavioral, emotional, thinking, and interpersonal patterns associated with problems of living” (Linehan, 2015). Since nobody escapes “problems of living,” we think everyone can benefit from incorporating these techniques into their lives -- mental health diagnoses or not!
DBT has four parts: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
In order to practice mindfulness, you must observe your thoughts, emotions, and actions without judgement. Being mindful allows you to live in the moment, slow down, and stay calm instead of automatically engaging in negative thought patterns.
Distress tolerance skills allow you to manage emotional stress to avoid feeling overwhelmed by stressful situations. Distress tolerance skills that DBT teaches people to build include: distraction, self-soothing, and weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
Emotional regulation will help you to recognize and channel your emotions in healthy ways, free from self-judgment. Being able to understand your emotions can help you have more positive emotional experiences.
Interpersonal effectiveness helps you improve the way you communicate with others. Some skills that interpersonal effectiveness builds on include assertiveness, listening and communication skills, dealing with challenging people, and respecting yourself.
Not only will DBT skills help with your mental health, but all of these skills can be applied to everyday life, therefore improving your overall quality of life! Try using some DBT skills in your daily life from the examples below and let us know in the comments section what you thought about it!
If you want to learn more about DBT click here. To find a DBT-certified therapist, you can search by zip code. Certification is a vigorous process; therefore, there are a lot more therapists that incorporate DBT techniques into their practice than there are DBT-certified therapists. When looking for a therapist, a determining factor in effective therapy is a good connection with the therapist so make sure to chat on the phone with the person and gauge how well you connect/feel comfortable in the first few sessions. Click here to find an affordable, virtual therapist. If you use this link here you get a free month and 15% off your second month on BetterHelp!
While change and learning new coping skills can be difficult, remember that you are worth it!
