Managing Intense Emotions: Building Emotional Resilience with DBT Therapy
Emotions and even intense emotions are a part of being a human being. We all experience bigger feelings from time to time, but, did you know that the ability to manage emotional responses actually has some pretty significant health outcomes? Individuals who experience, emotional, dysregulation, bit, anxiety, depression, anger, or other regulated emotional distress tend to struggle with substance use, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and other risky behaviors, and a much higher rate, and these forms of emotional dysregulation are reported to have significant impacts on the overall quality of life, relational, health, and work or academic successes (1).
So there are some pretty significant reasons to take emotional health and wellness seriously. DBT therapy, dialectical, behavioral therapy, is an evidence-based therapeutic technique, aimed at assisting individuals in building, emotional regulation, skills, or emotional resiliency (2). Emotional resiliency is the ability to tolerate greater levels of emotional distress.
Today we will take a deeper, dive into DBT therapy, and how it may be a part of building emotional resiliency.
Understanding emotions and calibrating them
One of the first steps in DBT therapy is addressing some general education on emotional responses, how to observe emotional responses in one’s body, and how to evaluate the varying levels of intensity of these emotional responses.
If you are unable to identify what is going on in the body or the brain, it’s virtually impossible to make appropriate and correct actions to assist, The, body and brain in regulating or coping with the experience that it’s having. These basic steps of understanding emotional responses is a key skills that DBT therapy can teach.
DBT Techniques for Managing Intense Emotions
Many people who experience, overwhelming emotional responses, actually struggle with awareness of their emotions, and how they can understand and respond to the feelings that they are having. One of the key principles of DBT therapy is equipping individuals with the tools to understand their emotional responses so that they are then better equipped for Managing in responding to them inappropriate ways.
Mindfulness is one of the first true skills that is taught in DBT therapy curriculums. Mindfulness assists individuals in observing the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that they are having so that they can correctly observe and identify those responses. Developing mindfulness, individuals are equipped with the ability to then implement many of the other DBT therapy tools, including regulation skills, coping techniques, Distress tolerance skills, techniques for delaying impulsivity, and even ways to communicate more effectively with others around us.
So how does all of this build emotional resiliency?
Resiliency is the ability to conquer, get through, or overcome hard things. With the skills that individuals learn through DBT therapy, individuals are able to train their brains, a little by little, to tolerate and conquer, greater levels of distress. Each time that an individual is able to successfully manage distress in an appropriate And tactful way, their brain is building the tolerance to handle, greater and greater emotional responses. And while practice doesn’t make perfect, practice does increase our proficiency in any area of life, so practice, with these emotional regulation techniques will improve our abilities to regulate emotions of greater intensity.
So, if you’re interested in taking your mental and emotional wellness to the next level, consider DBT therapy as an option for you.
And if you are interested in participating in DBT therapy, at Salyer Counseling Group, we offer a variety of ways to participate in this therapeutic intervention. We offered DBT group therapy options, DBT therapy in an individual format, online therapy, and in-person options at our Arlington, Texas-based therapy group. A member of our team would love to connect with you and help you build the skills for greater emotional health, wellness, and ultimately emotional resiliency.
