TIPP Skills
This letter in the TIPP acronym stands for using ice water or cold packs to change your body temperature and rapidly lower a high heart rate.
Temperature
Watching your favorite movie, playing a video game, or cleaning your room are examples of this skill in the ACCEPTS acronym.
Activities
Creating a relaxing fantasy in your mind, like a peaceful beach or a safe room, represents this letter in the IMPROVE acronym.
I (Imagery)
Lighting a scented candle, smelling a favorite perfume, or breathing in the aroma of fresh baking are ways to use this specific sense to self-soothe.
Smell
This concept means completely and totally accepting reality as it is in the present moment, without fighting, denying, or judging it.
Radical Acceptance
Engaging in a sprint, doing a jumping jack, or lifting weights falls under this TIPP skill.
I (Intense Exercise)
This skill suggests doing something kind for someone else, like baking cookies for a friend or helping a sibling with homework, to shift your focus away from your own distress.
Contributing
Finding a lesson, a purpose, or a silver lining within a painful situation relates to this letter.
M (Meaning)
Listening to a calming playlist, focusing on the sounds of nature or rainfall, or playing an instrument are all ways to soothe using this sense.
Hearing (sound)
Radical acceptance does not mean you approve of or endorse bad behavior; it simply means you stop trying to change a past fact, preventing pain from turning into THIS.
Suffering (Pain + Non-acceptance = Suffering)
This skill involves breathing deeply through your nose and exhaling more slowly than you inhale.
Paced Breathing
To use this skill, you might look at how your current situation could be worse, or look back at a time you survived a different difficult obstacle.
Comparisons
This skill suggests taking a short, intentional mental break from the crisis, and engaging in something spiritual before returning to problem-solving.
P (Prayer)
To use this sense, one might wrap themselves in a soft blanket, pet a dog or cat, take a warm bath, or focus on the texture of a smooth grounding stone.
Touch
This physical posture (sitting or standing with open hands, palms facing up) is used to signal to your brain and body that you are open and accepting of reality.
Willing Hands
This skill involves tensing a muscle group tightly while breathing in, and completely releasing the tension on the exhale, moving systematically through the body.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This skill involves deliberately provoking an alternative feeling by watching a funny video when you are sad, or listening to calming music when you are angry.
(Change your) Emotions
To use this skill, you focus on doing only one thing at a time in the exact present moment, rather than letting your mind drift to past regrets or future worries.
O (One thing in the moment)
Intentionally looking at a beautiful view, watching a crackling fire, looking through old photo albums, or watching a soothing video are examples of soothing through this sense.
Vision
This facial posture involves relaxing the face, slightly lifting the corners of the lips, and adopting a serene expression to help regulate intense, stubborn emotions.
Half-Smile
This biological reflex is triggered when you submerge your face in cold water while holding your breath, instantly slowing down your heart rate and nervous system.
Mammalian Dive Reflex
This skill of ACCEPTS involves putting the pain on the shelf for a while and forcing your brain to think about something else entirely.
Pushing Away
This skill is a reminder to plan a small, temporary escape or treat for yourself, like a mini-trip to a park or treating yourself to a favorite dessert, to make the day more bearable.
V (Vacation)
Mindfully drinking a warm cup of herbal tea, sucking on a favorite hard candy, or really noticing the flavors of a meal (without rushing over overeating) satisfies this fifth sense.
Taste
This term describes a state of stubbornness where you fight reality, dig your heels in, or refuse to do what is needed in a situation, which is the exact opposite of willingness.
Willfulness