Using DBT Distress Tolerance Skills: Spring Edition

Wise Mind ACCEPTS is an acronym for different skills we can use during times of distress, anxiety, worry, and/or high emotional temperature. ACCEPTS can help us to temporarily distract ourselves from our stressors so that we can better cope with them from a more regulated space, especially if the situation can’t be made better right away and we don’t have to make things worse. Below are some different ideas for how this Skill can be used With the warmer weather approaching:

Activities – Doing something with our bodies and minds. 

Start some seeds, plant a garden, or even just a plant or two. Go for a walk outside or in a local park. Go for a run. Take a hike. Play softball, baseball, pickleball, tennis, etc. Do yoga in the grass. Find a playground and swing on the swings. Draw pictures on the sidewalk with chalk. Do some bird-watching. Read outdoors. 

Contributing – Doing something nice for someone else or for ourselves. 

Help your neighbor weed their garden. Send someone other than your mom a Mother’s Day card. 

Comparisons – Compare yourself to a previous version of you. 

Is there something in previous Springs you’ve started that you’ve gotten more Skillful at this year? 

Emotions – Create different emotions. 

Listen to a playlist of songs that make you happy/want to dance/remind you of positive memories, etc. while driving with the windows down. Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video.

Pushing Away – Temporarily push the distressing situation out of your mind. 

Thoughts – Replace your distressing thoughts with others. 

Do a crossword puzzle, wordsearch, or sudoku puzzle outside. Count the different numbers of plants you see, the amount of clouds in the sky, ducks in a pond, etc.

Sensations – Intensify other sensations to distract yourself from your distress.

Observe the new blooms of flowers outside. Look at cherry blossoms. Hold a nice cup of tea in your hands and smell the aromas. Climb a tree. Wade in a creek. Eat a package of Peeps. Listen to the rain or to the birds chirping. Feel the sun on your face. Go for a walk in the rain. Pet your cat or dog.