DBT Skills for Overwhelming Moments
There are moments when emotions may feel more than uncomfortable. They might seem too fast, too intense, or just too much to endure. These emotions might come up in any number of daily experiences. One might feel a sudden and intense rush of panic when shopping for groceries. One might feel completely disconnected from reality when arguing with a partner. One might feel strong anger when cut off in traffic. In any of these moments, these emotions might feel disproportionate, embarrassing, or even impossible to explain. These instances are not indicative of emotional immaturity, nor do they mean that you lack the ability to persevere when confronted with adversity. Rather, these instances actually indicate that your nervous system is overwhelmed. Thankfully, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was developed with these moments in mind. Simply put, DBT is a type of talk therapy that works to teach skills geared toward mindfulness (e.g., tolerating distress, managing intense emotions,...