Session 3: Advanced Distress Tolerance Humber Recovery College Humber Recovery College Humber Recovery College Coping with Emotions Session 3: Advanced Distress Tolerance

Quick Review of Last Week In last week’s Distress Tolerance session, we learnt a range of important skills that you can use in a crisis: Began to identify ineffective coping strategies Discussed what radical acceptance is and began to think about using it Distraction techniques to distract yourself from difficult thoughts and overwhelming emotions Began to develop ideas about how to self soothe Quick Review of Last Week

Aims of the Session By the end of this session, you will have: Developed strategies for visualisation, cue- relaxation, higher power thinking, taking time out and living in the moment Learnt some self-encouraging coping thoughts Learnt how to use self-affirming statements Consolidated your learning by drafting some new coping strategies Aims of the Session

Safe Place Visualisations Powerful stress-reduction technique Soothe yourself by imagining a safe place Body and brain can’t always distinguish imagination from reality Create a soothing place in your mind, and your body will respond Visualisation exercise (p32-33) Safe Place Visualisations

Cue-controlled Relaxation Quick and easy way to reduce tension Use a word like ‘relax’ or ‘peace’ Train your body to release muscle tension when thinking about your cue-word Initially, you’ll need guidance to practice after practicing for a few weeks, you’ll be able to relax your whole body Begin by choosing a cue word Cue-controlled Relaxation

Cue-controlled Relaxation Exercise (p34) Cue-controlled Relaxation Exercise

Rediscovering Your Values These are the ideas, concepts and actions that fill your life with worth and importance Remembering what you value helps you to tolerate stressful situations It can help when you get upset about the same situation or person again and again Let’s explore what you value in life

Valued Living Questionnaire Identify how you value 10 components of your life How important are each of them to you? Rate their importance from 0-10 Be honest, show your true feelings! Valued Living Questionnaire

Create a more fulfilling life by formulating your intentions and commitments based on your values Identify the areas of your life you rated 5-10 in the Valued Living Questionnaire Fill these in on the Committed Action worksheet Identify one intention for each of these valued components which will help make life more fulfilling Commit to several actions that will move this forwards, and when you will begin Having a more fulfilling life can help you feel stronger during tougher times and give you something to look forward to when you have to do things you don’t like Committed Action e.g. A higher score for ‘education’ might make your intention to start studying again

Empowerment: Higher Powers Make yourself feel more powerful Think about the bigger picture Unexpected situations can hurt us or the people we care about If your spiritual tradition no longer gives you peace and strength, re-examine that faith Empowerment: Higher Powers

Empowerment: Higher Powers What are your beliefs about a higher power that give you strength and comfort? Why are these beliefs important to you? How do these beliefs make you feel? How do they make you think about others? How do they make you think about life in general? How do you acknowledge these beliefs in everyday life? What can you do to remind yourself of your beliefs on a regular basis? What can you do to remind yourself of them next time you are distressed? Empowerment: Higher Powers

Considering Higher Powers Remember your higher power can be something other than God: Look up at the stars Go to the beach and look out to sea Think about Planet Earth Get out into nature, think about the trees, the birds, the landscape Go to a place that you find awe-inspiring Go to a crowded place and see all the people going in their own directions Think about the human body & human life Considering Higher Powers

Next time you are in a distressing situation, ask yourself: Where am I right now? Am I time-travelling in the future, worrying about something that may not happen? Am I time travelling in the past? Am I in the present, really paying attention to what I’m doing, thinking and feeling? Bring your focus back to the present moment; notice how you are breathing, how your body feels and observe any tension or pain. Notice any painful emotions you may be experiencing as a result of your time travelling. Listening to now exercise (p45) The Power of Now

Self-encouraging Coping Thoughts These are reminders of how strong you have been in the past when you’ve survived distressing situations When you start to feel agitated or distressed, the early stages, self-encouraging coping thoughts can be particularly useful in soothing yourself before things spiral From the next page, select a few that you might adopt and write them down Self-encouraging Coping Thoughts

Self-encouraging Coping Thoughts This situation won’t last forever I’ve already been through many other painful experiences and I’ve survived This too shall pass My feelings make me uncomfortable right now, but I can accept them I can be anxious and still deal with the situation I’m strong enough to handle what’s happening to me right now This is an opportunity for me to learn how to cope with my fears I can ride this out and not let it get to me I can take all the time I need right now to let go and relax I’ve survived other situations like this one before, and I’ll survive this one too My anxiety/fear/sadness won’t kill me, it just doesn’t feel good right now These are just my feelings, and eventually they’ll go away This situation sucks, but it’s only temporary It’s OK to feel anxious/sad/afraid sometimes My thoughts don’t control my life, I do I can think different thoughts if I want to Self-encouraging Coping Thoughts

Self-affirming Statements These are useful for building a healthier self-image Their purpose is to remind yourself of the good qualities you possess to give yourself strength and resilience in difficult situations They will remind you that underneath your overwhelming emotions is a caring, loving person who is capable of handling a distressing situation in a healthier way Self-affirming Statements

Self-affirming Statements I might have some faults, but I’m still a good person I care about myself and other people I accept who I am I love myself I’m a good person, not a mistake I’m good, and nobody’s perfect I embrace both my good and bad qualities Today I take responsibilities for everything I do and say I’m becoming a better person every day I’m a sensitive person with rich emotional experiences Each day I do the best I can Even though I forget sometimes, I’m still a good person There’s a purpose to my life even though I may not always see it I radically accept myself Self-affirming Statements

Creating New Coping Strategies Now you’re familiar with distress tolerance skills, you can create new coping strategies for your future Examine distressing situations from the past and identify how you’ve coped with them Also think about what the unhealthy consequences were Identify new coping strategies that you’ll use in the future and what the healthy consequences might be You’ll need different ones for when you’re alone and when you’re with others Creating New Coping Strategies

Homework: Coping Thoughts & New Coping Strategies Using the sheet provided, and the list of new coping thoughts, develop a list of new alternative coping thoughts to the distressing situations you are likely to face over the coming weeks, months or years New Coping Strategies Complete the two worksheets and bring them to the next session Homework: Coping Thoughts & New Coping Strategies

Course Overview Date Session 4th October Introductory Session – Psychology & DBT Approach 11th October Basic Distress Tolerance Skills 18th October Advanced Distress Tolerance Skills 25th October Basic Mindfulness Skills 1st November BREAK WEEK – NO SESSION 8th November Advanced Mindfulness Skills 15th November Basic Emotional Regulation Skills 22rd November Advanced Emotion Regulation Skills 29th November Basic Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills 6th December Advanced Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills 13th December Putting it All Together

Well Done! You’ve completed Session 3! Next Week: Humber Recovery College Well Done! You’ve completed Session 3! Next Week: Session 4: Basic Mindfulness Skills