4 Ways DBT Can Help You Handle Life
Even when we’ve decided we want to be better, do better, think better and feel better, there are often scenarios that come up where we just don’t know what the right course of action is. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, or DBT, has a ton of skills that you can use in times of distress to: re-focus, maintain your values, and determine “what DO I DO?”
If this intrigues you, DBT Skills are something you will want to start learning and trying out in your own day-to-day. There are lots of resources for you to learn DBT if you’d like, and I highly recommend taking plenty of time learning about each skill from different sources, especially if you notice that one or two of these skills is helpful. Each skill is useful in a different way. Some may make more sense to you than others, which is fine. Take what you like and leave the rest. But I do recommend you checking out other sources of DBT info, because maybe a skill that is actually awesome, but seems dumb will finally make more sense to you when it is described by someone else. Likewise, maybe a skill you read about doesn’t seem to even apply to your life, but if in a month you read about the same skill from Marsha Linehan (the PNWern Psychologist who brought us this theory) or talk about it in a DBT Skills group, it may resonate because it was presented at a more applicable time and place.
DBT Skills fall into four categories, so start making notes now about what you are think might be most useful to your circumstances. Or, which you already know about and want to refresh or amp up for yourself.
•Mindfulness - so you are present enough to know you are in need of a skill and you can determine which to use
•Distress Tolerance - so you can accept and get through the inevitable pain and disappointment involved in living life
•Emotional Regulation - so when big feelings come (and they will) you know how to handle yourself without ignoring your feelings, and also without letting them boss you around
•Interpersonal Skills - so you can create and maintain relationships, which are both difficult and rewarding. Relationships are a crucial component of a life worth living
Which of these categories most intrigues you?