For those of us who deal with intense emotions, whether due to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), BPD traits, or other reasons, we know how important it is to take a mindful, skillful break from our suffering through the use of conscious distraction. I call it conscious distraction, because in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we use […]
Anxiety and Panic attacks can be SO SCARY!!! If you agree, read on… Hey everyone. I am experiencing some intense/extreme anxiety since yesterday, and because I’ve become well versed in how to effectively cope even in the midst of feeling completely “crazy” and terrified during anxious episodes, I thought I’d share with you, as I […]
What is a boundary? In interpersonal relationships, you might imagine yourself being in a protective bubble. This bubble grows or shrinks in size depending on who you are around. The smaller the bubble, the closer and more intimate the other person can get to you, and of courses the opposite is true the larger the […]
There is a set of skills widely known to help those of us with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), those of us who have BPD traits, and those of us who identify as being emotionally sensitive. In particular today, I’ll be highlighting “crisis survival” aka “Distress Tolerance” skills. These skills can be used to help us better cope […]
In life, it’s often the little things that matter and that end up making the most difference. I am a big drinker of Zevia soda (this isn’t a promo for them, but in brief, I turned to it from Diet Coke years ago because I no longer wanted to consume aspartame and caffeine, and theirs […]
In this video, I chip at the tip of the iceberg of skills we can use to manage very intense emotions. I also share a bit of my own personal story around how devastatingly intense my emotions used to be and what began to help me take back my life. (Hint: It has to do […]
You know that feeling…. that fear of dread… it shows up in your body and your mind. Sometimes you can readily identify the trigger or the precise cause of why you are feeling anxious or panicky. Other times, it’s not so easy. Dr. Linehan, the creator of the powerful skillset known as Dialectical Behavior Therapy […]
What started out as a DBT distraction skill practice to tolerate distress has turned into so much more. For years I’ve been managing what used to be a hoarding problem. Years ago I threw away so many bags of trash that it was unbelievable. At that point, my life changed. I no longer filled my home […]
I am so proud to again present to you the work of Mary, a friend who is a Certified Peer Support Specialist in recovery from BPD. This is part 2 of her guest post series. If you missed part one, read it here, then enjoy the article below.Love as the Doorway to Recovery “I am honored to walk beside […]
In this video, I discuss how those with Borderline Personality Disorder (or who are in recovery), those with Borderline Traits, and those of us who identify as being emotionally sensitive sometimes experience our emotions in the world. HINT: Much more intensely than the people around us. The good news is, we can learn to better […]
