With everyday stressors and more significant stressful events that can occur in our lives, it can be easy to become emotionally overwhelmed and have difficulty regulating painful or intense emotions, such as fear, sadness, or anger. Ineffective coping strategies can lead to poor mental and physical health and unhealthy relationships.  DBT skills can help us learn how to regulate our emotions healthily to benefit mentally, physically, and relationally.

What is DBT, and where does it come from?

Marsha Linehan developed dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in the 1970s after working extensively with clients who self-harmed or attempted suicide. She utilized cognitive behavior therapy and more humanistic approaches for many years, with little to no success. Eventually, she developed DBT, which uses a combination of CBT, humanistic approaches, dialectics, and mindfulness, which have proven to help an array of mental health issues, including suicidal ideation and self-harm, addiction, eating disorders, borderline personality disorder, and anxiety and depression. Humanistic approaches are very supportive and reflective, offering extensive validation. Dialectics involves the synthesis of opposites through understanding varying contexts and seeking a workable balance, which leads to change.  Mindfulness consists in using a non-judgmental and accepting stance toward our emotions.

DBT has four core components that are utilized:

• Mindfulness Skills teach: awareness, how to direct your mental processes, how to be in the present moment, how to be responsive to behavior, increased emotion regulation and decreased (ineffective) mood-congruent behaviors, and improved connection to experience, enjoyment, and peace, as well as increased tolerance of what is uncomfortable or even painful
• Distress Tolerance Skills teach the ability to tolerate painful emotion, distraction without avoiding action instead of reaction, and managing crisis without making it worse.
• Emotion Regulation teaches how emotions work, how to reduce emotional vulnerability, create positive emotions, step out of ineffective mood-congruent behaviors, and develop and maintain emotional balance.
• Interpersonal Effectiveness teaches how to build self-respect, make and maintain relationships, meet wants and needs, set effective boundaries, and say no when necessary.
  

Bareiter Therapist provides DBT Strategies to Effectively Lower Anxiety and Stress.

Observe Your Thoughts-

Sit comfortably, or lie down on your back. If you are sitting, keep your back straight, but release the tension in your shoulders and let them drop. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing, noticing how your body feels as you slowly breathe in and out. Become completely immersed in the experience and imagine you are riding the waves of your breath. Now move your attention to your thoughts, becoming aware of any that enter your mind. Try to see them as thoughts – mere events happening in your mind. If it helps, you can imagine them as clouds passing along or leaves floating down a stream. Notice the thoughts enter your consciousness, but then let them disappear on their own – no need to hold onto them. If you are becoming sidetracked by an idea, just notice what distracted you from observing your thoughts, and then gently bring yourself back to observing. After a few minutes, you should shift your attention back to your breathing and open your eyes when ready.

Self-Soothing Through Your Senses-

Sight- Go for a walk in nature. Mindfully notice the views in front of you, one at a time. Notice the colors, shapes, and sizes of each sight that comes into your awareness.

Hearing- Listening to calming music can be very soothing. You can find some fantastic relaxing videos online.

Touch- Take a warm bath or shower, which can help to relax your muscles and any tension that may be present.

Smell- Create pleasant aromas using an essential oil diffuser, scented candle, or incense. Also, try using scented hand lotion.

Taste- Choose a food or drink you enjoy and spend time eating or drinking it mindfully, focusing on its taste.

At Bareiter Counseling Center, we work with individuals, adolescents, and families. DBT skills can be learned through individual and group therapy. To learn more about DBT and how it can help you, please contact 704-334-0524.

By Melissa Fabeny MA, LCMHC