ABC Please
This DBT skill helps you prepare for future stressful situations by planning ahead mentally.
Cope Ahead
Define Opposite Action
This skill means acting opposite to your emotional urge when the emotion doesn’t fit the facts.
When you think “They hate me” after a neutral interaction, you do this skill first.
Check the Facts
Define Mindfulness of current emotion
Allowing yourself to experience/notice your emotions without suppressing, avoiding or judging them.
At work, your boss gives neutral feedback and you assume you’re in trouble.
Check the Facts
This skill focuses on doing small tasks daily to feel more capable and confident.
Building Mastery
If fear is unjustified, this skill would have you approach rather than do this.
Avoid or Escape
This skill is used when you can change the situation instead of just changing the emotion
Problem solving
Emotions are often experienced like this natural phenomenon that rises and falls.
Waves (ride the wave)
You feel overwhelmed and want to stay in bed all day even though responsibilities are waiting.
Opposite Action
What are the two types of way to accumulate positive experiences? Explain each one
Short Term: doing pleasant things that are possible now
Long Term: Make changes in your life so that positive events will happen more often in the future.
What are the first two steps of opposite action?
1. Identify and name the emotion you want to change
2. Check the facts to see if your emotion is justified by facts.
After identifying a real problem, you do this before acting.
Brainstorm solutions
This skill teaches that emotions provide this kind of information.
What is signals or messages about needs?
You’ve been working long hours, sleeping 4–5 hours a night, skipping meals, and drinking more caffeine than usual. You notice you’re more irritable, anxious, and overwhelmed than usual.
ABC Please
Fill in the blank “Accumulating positive emotions in the long term to build _______.”
a life worth living
1. Let go of controlling others’ actions.
2. Share the things and people you have in your life
Opposite action for Jealousy
Name one reason we use Check the Facts
Up to group discretion
How can mindfulness of current emotion be helpful?
1. Let go on emotional suffering
2. increase self understanding and sense of control
3. change what we think of our thoughts themselves
After an argument with your partner, you feel strong anger and sadness. You feel the urge to shut down, distract yourself, or “numb out” instead of feeling anything.
Mindfulness of current emotions
What does PLEASE stand for?
Treat Physical Illness
Balanced Eating
Avoid Mood Altering Substances
Balance Sleep
Get Exercise
This requires fully committing in action, body language, and thoughts to the opposite behavior
Opposite Action all the way
What is the last step of problem solving?
7. Evaluate the results of using that solution.
What does it mean to practice loving your emotion?
1. No judgment
2. Accepting emotion
3. Willingness
4. No fighting against it
You make a small mistake on a project at work. Your supervisor gives neutral feedback, but you feel embarrassed and assume they are disappointed in you. You want to avoid future meetings.