Tag Archive for: self soothing

The Nuts and Bolts of DBT Self-Soothing: Guest Post by Rachel Cooper

Please welcome Rachel Cooper and her second guest blog piece at Healing From BPD!  From Rachel:   In my last post, (Top 10 DBT Skills for Overcoming Alexithymia & Depression (#8 is my Favorite right now!), I mentioned that I use the Self-Soothe skills from DBT’s Distress Tolerance module to help me when I’m feeling […]

Seeking Safety: Week 3 of Trauma Recovery Group

To read Week 1, click Here.To read Week 2, click Here. This week in PTSD Trauma Recovery Group, we did two things.  We covered the concept of “Red and Green Flags” (triggers and indications that we are becoming dysregulated) and we began the process of participants, in vivid and disturbing detail, recounting their trauma incident […]

The Shower as a Sanctuary: DBT Self-Soothing Skill

One of my favorite Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills is Self-Soothing.  I went from a time in my life when I believed I was totally undeserving of feeling “good” to becoming immersed in this skill, to finding a balance. It is still my top go-to skill when I am feeling emotionally dysregulated and distressed and […]

Evoking the Mammalian Brain Response – Why Self-Soothing Works (DBT)

Self-soothing is an incredibly effective coping mechanism for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, the emotionally sensitive, and humanity as a whole. Why? It works. When we are feeling distressed, primitive stress responses still arise in our modern-day brains an attempt to protect us from perceived danger. The problem is, even when we are not in […]

DBT for Severe Anxiety and Panic Attacks

You think you’ve made progress. You’ve been doing well, and anxiety and panic attacks almost seem like some surreal experience from long ago. Then, in response to a particular situation (or perhaps for no apparent reason at all), you find yourself overcome and overwhelmed with anxiety and/or panic. Image Credit This was me over the past couple […]

Make Your Own Self Soothing Kit (DBT – Self Soothe)

If you were to make a self-soothing kit that you could easily take with you wherever you go, what would be inside?  The goal would be to bring at least one item that soothes each of your senses.  I am considering putting together such a kit, and here is what I imagine I will include: […]