#resistt

This is a DBT skill that is useful for resisting urges.

Reframe the situation

When we feel overwhelming emotions, it's easy to start thinking things like "this is terrible and nothing will ever get better" especially with a lot of us dealing with a lack of emotional permanence. Reframing the situation means changing your perspective. While things may feel overwhelming and it's easy to get stuck in that, changing our thought to "Things are really hard right now. But I've experienced things being really hard before and I've survived. I will survive this too."

Engage in a distracting activity

The next part in the RESISTT technique is engage in a distracting activity. Pick an activity that you enjoy or find distracting. I find it helpful to create a list of distracting things I can do when I'm calm that I can pull out in times of need. This might include things like watching a show, playing a game, reading a book, etc.

Someone else

Focus on someone else. Maybe you can be there for a friend, or plan a surprise for someone. Focusing our attention on someone else can work as a distraction. You could even focus on your pet if you have one. Taking your dog for a walk, or a game of fetch might make them really happy and distract you.

Intense sensations

Intense sensations can work really well as a distraction. This might include holding an ice cube, having a cool shower, or have a hot drink or hot shower. Please be sure to do these things safely.

Shut it out

We're often told that "shutting it out" is a bad thing to do, and that can be really true. But sometimes we don't have much of a choice. If we're experiencing our crisis while we're out shopping. The goal of this is to get to a quiet place to sit down and think about the situation. Is it a problem you can solve right now? If the answer is "no", then try and visualize yourself physically putting your problem into a box and sealing it. Putting it aside for the time being until you

Neutral Thoughts

This involves thinking about things that don't add to your stress. Counting in your head, reciting song lyrics in your head or things like that can be helpful. Maybe there's an activity you can even do in your head.

Take a break