Distress Tolerance Skills

Distress Tolerance

"crisis survival skills"

You are in a CRISIS if...

• Highly stressful.

• Short term (that is, it won't last a long time).

• Creating intense pressure to resolve the crisis now.

Use Crisis Survival Skills When...

• You have intense pain that cannot be helped quickly.

• You want to act on your emotions, but it will only make things worse.

• You are overwhelmed but your problems cannot be solved immediately

Don't use Crisis Survival Skills to...

• Everyday problems

• Solve all of your problems

• Make your life better

A C C E P T S

• Activities

• Contributing

• Comparisons

• Emotions

• Pushing away

• Thoughts

• Sensations

Activities

Do something: call, email, or visit a friend; watch a favorite movie or tv show; play video games; write in a journal; go for a run or walk or exercise intensely; read a book; listen to music, etc.

Contributing

Contibute to (or do something nice) for someone. Help a friend, or sibling with work; volunteer; make something nice for someone else; give away things you don't need; surprise someone with a compliment, hug, favor, etc

Comparisons

Compare yourself to those less fortunate. Compare how you are feeling now to a time when you were doing worse. Think about others who are coping the same as or less well than you.

Emotions

Create different emotions. Watch funny TV shows, videos, or movies; listen to calming or upbeat music; get active when you are sad; go outside or look at memes or jokes online

Pushing away

The the painful situation out of your mind temporarily. Leave situation temporarily by moving your attention and thoughts away; build an imaginary wall between you and the situation; put the pain in a box and on a shelf for awhile.

Thoughts

Replace your thoughts. Read; do word or number puzzles; count numbers, colors in a poster, tiles on a wall, or anything else; repeat words to a song in your mind

Sensations

Intensify other sensations. Hod or chew ice; list to loud music; take a warm or cold shower; squeeze a stress ball or something soft; do sit-ups or push ups; pet a dog, cat, or other pet.