Mindfulness is the foundation skill for DBT. These 10 exercises teach you to observe your thoughts and feelings non-judgmentally, setting the stage for emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness.
Do you hold beliefs that are not supported by scientific or logical reasoning? If you find yourself answering “yes” to most of these, you probably have low distress tolerance.
Emotion Regulation, the third core skill of DBT, builds on mindfulness and distress tolerance. These 12 exercises teach you to recognize, accept and regulate your emotions.
Interpersonal Effectiveness, the final skill of DBT, builds on the foundation of mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. These 13 exercises teach you how to navigate relationships, assert your needs, and manage conflict while maintaining respect for yourself and others.
This DBT skill is directly related to experiencing positive emotions: when you get things done and are effective in life you feel good. Maybe you've been feeling depressed for a while and you have been postponing your obligations and this, in turn, makes you feel more depressed.
In the column named Qualities of the Object write the qualities that you described the object with, such as the adjectives or descriptions (for e.g. small, smooth, light, makes no sound).
The key is to first consider and practice this technique when you're not overwhelmed with emotions. First, prepare and make a plan that you will try this exercise next time when you are emotionally overwhelmed since it might save you a lot of unnecessary spent energy.
STOP is part of the Emotional Regulation and crisis survival toolkit in DBT. It’s a short, powerful technique you can use in the exact moment when your emotions feel too big and you’re about to act impulsively. It’s what you reach for when you want to respond, not react. Let’s try it.
Simply be present in the conversation and casually observe some of the obvious body language signs that the other person is projecting. You are also participating in the conversation and are not expected to record every move like a camera. Try to be more relaxed and trust your intuitive feeling.
