Sidetracked
Described in the Distress Tolerance module, this set of skills includes many ways to distract and can be remembered by the use of an acronym.
What is "Wise Mind ACCEPTS?"
Some consider this the hardest skill in DBT; it involves fully accepting something that you feel is unacceptable
What is Radical Acceptance?
A skill that involves seeing calming scenes in your "mind's eye."
What is using Imagery?
These skills work within seconds to minutes to bring down emotional arousal by changing our physiology.
What are the TIP skills?
A skill set in DBT that involves comforting, nurturing, gentle, and mindful kindness to oneself. Doing this for others tends to come naturally when we see someone upset.
What is self-soothing?
Many people do this already, it involves distracting the mind by doing something else like playing a game, surfing the internet or cleaning.
What is Distract with Activities?
This is an attitude that is often problematic. Usually your mind is screaming "Nooooo" when this attitude arises.
What is Wilfulness?
Using this skill involves taking a break from a stressful situation, temporarily.
What is a brief Vacation?
Slowing down your inhaling for a count of 4 and exhaling for a count of 6 is an example of how you might practice this skill.
What is paced breathing?
These five senses may be used in self-soothing.
What are vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch?
This involves distracting by doing something nice for someone else.
What is Contributing?
A skill that involves relaxing your facial muscles and turning up the corners of your mouth
What is Half Smile?
This involves focusing your entire attention on just what you are doing, letting go of thoughts from the past or future.
What is One thing in the Moment?
This DBT skill induces the human dive reflex.
What is tipping your face in cold water?
Boiling cinnamon, lighting a scented candle or using aromatherapy are examples of this skill.
What is self-soothing with scent
Many people hate this skill but it involves thinking of someone else who may have it worse than you do.
What is Comparisons?
According to Linehan, this attitude involves allowing the world to be just as it is, even when you wish it were different.
What is willingness?
This skill involves trying to calm your muscles in an effort to relax your mind. An example might be taking a hot bath or self-massage.
What is Relaxation?
Making fists with both hands for 10 seconds and letting might be one part of using this skill.
What is paired muscle relaxation?
A specific meditation considered soothing by many, this exercise involves shifting your focus over the parts of your body while focusing on the breath.
What is a body scan meditation?
This is a strange skill in which you may do something that tends to evoke a very strong emotion but it may reduce your current emotion.
What is distracting with different Emotions?
This is what Linehan calls the tension and angst caused by non-acceptance.
What is suffering?
This skill involves finding a sense of purpose in the painful situation that you are trying to tolerate.
What is Meaning?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic branches
What are the two parts of the nervous system?
This sense often impacts us powerfully as it is DIRECTLY connected to our emotional brain, unlike the other four senses which are channeled through the brain's thalamus.
What is the sense of smell?