DBT’s “Antidote” Skills
Some call them the “ABC’s” of Emotion Regulation.
I consider them a bit more of a set of lifestyle choices.
These “antidotes” (as I call them) treat
Boredom, Depression, & Anxiety
respectively.
Accumulating Positives
Did you know Boredom is a form of Anxiety?
It’s a dis-ease with the idea of stillness.
an agitation and dissatisfaction with what’s available
In the Short Term, the antidote to this feeling is simply
doing something nice for yourself.
Right.
Now.
because you too deserve Dopamine & Serotonin
just like everyone else.
And feeling good helps us do everything else better
but mostly: regular, small doses of good feels are great for their own sake.
In the Long Term, this means getting to know your Values
What words describe a Future You that you can appreciate & admire?
What can you do today to be even 1% more like the person you want to be?
Building Mastery
A day spent with Depression can sometimes end with the thought:
“what did I do today?
…nothing important”
and the aftereffects of that can set off the next day
in a similarly stalled-out fashion.
Building Mastery is the choice to improve at something.
anything.
Because at the end of the day,
if you’ve been working toward a goal,
you’ve done indisputably more than nothing.
And you can tell yourself that.
As a fact.
Every day you give it your focus.
And you can learn to trust yourself more each step along the way.
Cope Ahead
Anxiety tells us “the worst case scenario
is more likely” than it may actually be.
That “whatever happens,
It will be worse than we can plan for, “
or “we won’t be able to cope”
When we Cope Ahead, we face the catastrophizing inner worrier
and play out how we would avoid or address their fear head-on.
Visualize ourselves navigating it effectively.
Then choose to intentionally relax
to remind our nervous system that we’re currently still safe
& well enough to be overthinking unpredictable scenarios in the Future