At the core of many mental health challenges lies the struggle with emotional dysregulation – a condition that significantly impacts the way people experience and respond to their feelings. If you have emotional dysregulation, you may find it challenging to control the intensity and duration of your reactions to various situations. As a result, you may have sudden angry outbursts, intense anxiety, or feel overwhelmed without fully understanding why. Dialectical behavioral therapy is a powerful way to help you manage your feelings and stay on a more even keel.
What Is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy?
Dialectical behavioral therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of treatment. Developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan in the late 1980s to treat borderline personality disorder, DBT has since proven effective for a range of other conditions, particularly those involving emotional dysregulation.
The Core Principles of DBT
DBT’s foundation is the concept of dialectics, or the integration of opposites. The primary dialectic within DBT is between the seemingly contradictory strategies of acceptance and change. Here’s how this therapy works.
- Acceptance and validation: DBT teaches that tolerance and understanding are the first steps in coping with complex feelings. It encourages you to acknowledge and validate your feelings as real and significant.
- Mindfulness: Central to DBT is the concept of mindfulness, which involves being fully present, aware and non-judgmental of yourself in each moment.
- Emotional regulation: DBT provides specific skills to manage and change intense emotions that cause problems in your life.
- Distress tolerance: Focused on increasing your tolerance of negativity, rather than trying to escape from it.
- Interpersonal effectiveness: DBT also involves skills to help you interact more effectively with others, which can reduce relationship-induced stress.
How DBT Helps With Emotional Dysregulation
People experiencing emotional dysregulation feel they are at the mercy of their feelings. DBT provides a toolkit to understand and manage your reactions, bringing the following benefits.
- Identify and label emotions: Recognizing what you feel is the first step in dealing with it appropriately.
- Increase awareness of emotional triggers: Understanding what triggers emotional responses helps in managing them.
- Develop healthy coping mechanisms: Instead of resorting to self-destructive behaviors, DBT encourages constructive ways to manage intense emotions.
- Improve relationships: By reducing interpersonal conflicts, DBT helps you stabilize relationships, which can be a source of emotional upheaval.
The Journey With DBT at Amend Wellness
At Amend Wellness, we recognize the challenges of living with emotional dysregulation. DBT is one of the evidence-based therapies we use to help our clients develop the skills they need to lead more balanced, fulfilling lives.
Your stay at our comfortable retreat begins with stabilization. Our clinicians will work with you to untangle emotional dysregulation and prepare for the rejuvenating, transformative experience that awaits you.
DBT might be your path forward if you struggle to find stability, self-acceptance, and empowerment. Contact us to learn how to find a renewed sense of peace and stability.