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Coping with Acute Emotional Distress: Crisis Survival Strategies (Part 2)

12/11/2018

Author: Diana Gordon, Psy.D.

In Part 1 of our crisis survival series, we introduced the ACCEPTS acronym, which highlights 7 skills you can use to cope with challenging emotions. Today we will review two other Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills that can be helpful when you are experiencing powerful emotions.

One skill we teach a lot of our clients is self-soothing. We can draw on our senses to soothe ourselves during difficult moments. The great thing about these skills is that we can often draw on them quickly in the moment, with minimal preparation. You can use them anyplace and anytime you need to calm down. You can draw on your sense of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, or movement to evoke positive emotions.

Vision: Look through books or magazines, old photo albums, or even go to a beautiful place with views you enjoy. Images of nature, people you love, animals, or other images that evoke positive feelings can help you quickly feel better. Pay attention to every detail and even describe it (out loud or in your head) to help transport you into a different mindset.
Hearing: Listen to relaxing music, nature sounds, or a podcast or audio book that you enjoy.
Smell: Enjoy familiar and/or relaxing smells. Take a warm bath with essential oils, bake something that smells delicious, or go to a restaurant you love that always smells good.
Taste: Savor a food or beverage that evokes positive feelings. Try a cup of warm tea, some crispy crackers, or a refreshing cold beverage. Savor and enjoy every bite or sip mindfully.
Touch: Touch something soothing and relaxing, like a pet, a soft blanket, a knitting project, or some play-doh or clay.
Movement: Get some activity in, and notice how your body feels while in motion. You can go for a walk, do some light stretching, or even head to the gym for a workout.

Another tool we often recommend for self-soothing is a DBT skill called TIPP the scale. The acronym TIPP stands for 4 ways that you can experience intense physical sensations that may help you feel more in control of your emotional state.

Temperature: Try experimenting with temperature, either hot or cold. Take a hot shower or put a warm washcloth or neck wrap on your shoulders. Or run cold water over your hands and forearms, or place an ice pack on your forehead. You can also drink a hot or cold beverage, or even suck on some ice.
Intense Exercise: Try a burst of intense physical activity to get your heartrate up and move your focus away from intense emotions. You might try jogging or walking in place for a few minutes, burpees, jumping jacks, lunges, squats, or pushups.
Paced breathing: Focus on slowing down your breath and counting each breath. You might try inhaling to the count of 3, pausing briefly, and exhaling to the count of 3.
Progressive muscle relaxation: Starting with your toes, clench one muscle group at a time for a few seconds, and then release. There are several videos available on Youtube that will walk you through this process.

Both of these sets of skills can be helpful when you’re feeling overwhelmed by strong emotions. By shifting your focus away from the immediate crisis, you give yourself a chance to calm down before engaging in problem solving or determining your next steps. If you would like to learn more skills for managing intense emotions, please reach out to us for a free phone consultation. And stay tuned for Part 3 of this series, which will introduce a few more crisis survival skills.

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Coping with Acute Emotional Distress: Crisis Survival Strategies (Part 2)

Diana Gordon, Psy.D., Kari Kagan Psy.D., and Katie Leoni, Psy.D.

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