How to Regulate your Emotions Using DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
Photo Credit: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/zones-of-regulation-chart-12068045
by Clearwater Clinician=Angie Beaubrun
Have you ever felt as if you are constantly experiencing overwhelming emotions that you are unable to manage? The DBT approach to emotional regulation may be able to assist.
DBT is a cognitive-behavioral approach that emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of treatment. The goal of DBT is to teach healthy coping skills to help clients manage intense emotions without the use of self-destructive behavior.
Emotion regulation is taking the steps to exert some control over our emotions. In DBT, emotion regulation specifically invites us to experience more pleasant emotions and decrease the frequency of negative emotions. Using emotion regulation, we’re able to understand what our different emotions are telling us about the situation we’re in. Emotional regulation goal is to reduce vulnerability to unwanted emotions and increase emotional resiliency when negative feelings do come up. While DBT includes other skills such as distress tolerance to help you cope with difficult emotions in the moment, emotion regulation strategies are preventative.
There are several misconceptions about the origins of emotions:
-emotions are a result of what someone has done
-emotions are the result of something that occurred
- Emotions arise as a result of an event.
- Emotions appear out of nowhere
However, these are all FALSE. Based on DBT, our emotions come from our Personal Belief System and are caused by our interpretation of what happened.
Primary vs Secondary Emotions
When you notice that you’re experiencing an emotion, observe it without judgement. While some emotions may be more pleasant than others, each is valuable. Identify the emotion you’re feeling and consider what this emotion may be trying to tell you about your situation. Then, you can decide whether to listen to the emotion or let it go. The difference with secondary emotions is they last longer. When you are feeling the secondary emotion, the key is to figure out the primary emotion so you can figure out the best action
Primary emotions:
● Are our most basic emotional responses wired in our systems
○ Happiness
○ Anger
○ Disgust
○ Interest
○ Sadness
○ Fear
○ Guilt/Shame
○ Surprise
Secondary emotions:
● Are our emotional reactions to an emotion and are learned from others
● Feeling frustrated when feeling angry
● Feeling depressed when you are sad
● Feeling confused when you are surprised
To Help Reduce Emotional Vulnerability Remember A.B.C & P.L.E.A.S.E & Opposite Action
A.B.C
A-Accumulate Positives
● Actively participate in positive and pleasant experiences
o Short term: Do pleasant things that are possible now
o Make your own list of joyful experiences that you can do every day at least one or two (pick small tasks for when you are in a low mood)
o Long Term: Make changes in your life so that positive experiences happen more frequently
● Repair past relationships and work on current/new relationships
B- Build Mastery
● Do something challenging and stimulating to achieve a sense of accomplishment
● List small steps toward goals
C-Cope ahead of time
● Visualize/Rehearse in advance to cope efficiently in emotionally challenging situations
PLEASE
PL - Physical pain/Illness (Be sure to make your physical well-being a priority, such as getting your routine check-ups. Remember, when you are feeling well, you’re less likely to spiral out of emotional control)
E - Eat balanced meals (Focus on eating balanced meals that make you feel good. Avoid eating large portions or portions that are too small. And don’t eat or drink foods that you are allergic to or that make you feel ill or overly emotional)
A - Avoid mood altering drugs (If the drug has not been prescribed to you by a doctor, then you may need to avoid consuming the substance. When you are inebriated or under the influence of a substance that has not been prescribed for you by a physician, then it’s much harder to maintain emotional control.)
S - Sleep patterns (Some people need 10 hours of sleep while others can operate just fine with less; it’s really about what is right for your body. Just make sure that you are getting enough sleep each night so that you’re not irritable and prone to emotional outbursts)
E – Exercise (Get in some type of exercise every day. If you haven’t exercised in a while, that’s okay. Start where you are and gradually build up to 20 minutes of physical exercise each day. When your body is strong and healthy, then you’re less vulnerable to emotional roller coasters)
Opposite Action
● It helps us take control of our emotions when they don’t fit the facts.
● Opposite action is most effective when it’s done “all the way,” meaning that you act opposite in thoughts, words, and deeds
● Each emotion we experience comes with an action urge, or behavior, associated with it. After identifying the emotion you’re experiencing, try to identify the associated behavior.
○ Ex. feeling fearful before public speaking
● These urges are often intended to protect you. But emotions aren’t always right.
● When the emotion doesn’t fit the fact, you’ll want to identify an action that opposes the emotional urge.
○ Ex. If you’re feeling embarrassed and experiencing the urge to isolate, you could intentionally seek out the companionship of a safe friend and speak about your feelings
REFERENCES
Ives, A. (2016, December 24). Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) - "PLEASE Mastery" Technique for Emotion Regulation. Retrieved from https://healthypsych.com/dialectical-behavior-therapy-dbt-please-mastery-technique-for-emotion-regulation/
Mason, K. L. (2016, September 27). Bullying and the Emotional Mind: Teaching DBT Skills to Foster Resiliency. Retrieved from https://www.lacounseling.org/images/lca/Conference/LCA 2016 DBT-Bullying-Mason.Kim.pdf
Sunrisertc. (2017, November 07). Do We Even Need Them? Your Guide to Understanding Emotions. Retrieved from https://www.sunrisertc.com/emotions-list/