Coping with Intense Emotions: DBT Skills for Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation
Emotions can be powerful and, at times, overwhelming. When emotions run high, it’s easy to react impulsively or feel stuck in distress. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) offers practical skills to help navigate intense emotions with greater balance and resilience. Two key DBT skill sets—Distress Tolerance and Emotion Regulation—provide tools to manage difficult emotions effectively and respond in ways that align with personal values and goals.
When Do We Use Coping Skills?
Coping skills are most helpful when emotions feel overwhelming or difficult to manage. DBT identifies two primary situations where coping skills are necessary:
Distress Tolerance – When emotions are overwhelming, and immediate relief is needed without making the situation worse.
Emotion Regulation – When emotions are chronic or reactive, and a long-term approach is needed to understand, manage, and shift emotional patterns.
DBT Strategies for Coping with Intense Emotions
Distress tolerance skills help when emotions feel unbearable, and no immediate solution is available. These skills don’t fix the problem but allow us to get through the moment without acting impulsively or engaging in harmful behaviors.
Effective DBT Distress Tolerance Skills for Managing Emotional Crises:
TIPP (Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing, Progressive Muscle Relaxation) – Changes the body’s chemistry to quickly reduce emotional intensity.
Distraction (ACCEPTS) – Uses activities, contributing, comparisons, opposite emotions, pushing away, thoughts, and sensations to shift focus away from distress until it subsides.
Self-Soothing – Engages the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) to create a calming experience.
IMPROVE the Moment – Uses imagery, meaning, prayer, relaxation, one-mindfulness, vacation (mental or physical), and encouragement to create a sense of peace and acceptance.
STOP Skill – Encourages a mindful pause before reacting: Stop, Take a step back, Observe, and Proceed mindfully.
These practical exercises for enhancing distress tolerance skills help regulate emotions in crisis moments, giving time and space to choose a response that aligns with long-term goals rather than short-term relief.
DBT Emotion Regulation Techniques to Manage Mood
Emotion regulation involves learning to understand, name, and adjust emotions so they don’t take control. While distress tolerance helps in urgent situations, emotion regulation provides long-term strategies to create emotional balance.
Steps to Improve Emotion Regulation Using DBT Methods:
Identifying & Labeling Emotions – Recognizing emotions helps reduce their intensity and makes them easier to manage.
Checking the Facts – Asking whether emotional reactions are based on reality or interpretations that may not be accurate.
Opposite Action – Acting against the urge an emotion brings when the emotion does not serve a helpful purpose.
Reducing Emotional Vulnerability (ABC PLEASE):
Accumulate positive experiences
Build mastery in areas of interest
Cope ahead for difficult situations
PLEASE: Treat physical health with balanced eating, sleep, and movement.
These DBT emotion regulation techniques to manage mood swings teach individuals how to gradually shift their emotional responses rather than being controlled by them.
Why These Skills Matter
Emotions are not something to fight against—they provide valuable information. However, when emotions become overwhelming or interfere with daily life, DBT strategies for coping with intense emotions offer a way to respond with awareness and intention. Therapy can help individuals develop and practice these skills, making it easier to handle emotional challenges with confidence and clarity.
If you're interested in learning more about how to use these tools in your life, therapy provides a structured and supportive space to build emotional resilience and coping strategies.