DBT SKills for feeling Emotionally Overwhelmed–Start Here

Have you been feeling flooded recently?

I have– and for me it came suddenly. From one day to the next, there were suddenly midterm exams, term papers, research papers, upcoming finals, graduate school decisions, and of course a myriad of other non-college related responsibilities that seemed to appear out of nowhere. 

Other than breaking each task into tiny manageable tasks and drowning in to-do lists, I figured there had to be a quick and easy way to combat the giant inner groan that swelled inside me every time I sat down to write those lists.

Luckily, there are ways. And they have their roots in DBT as well. Here are my top three, rated for their effectiveness, low time commitment, and practicality:  

1. Mindfulness: Cliche as it may sound, being mindful of the fact that there is a lot going on has enormous beneficial effects. Mindfulness is being aware of the present moment, nonjudgementally. That last part is key. It’s enough to be overwhelmed. I don’t need to make judgements and beat myself up about it too.

Once I’m aware of my state of emotional overwhelm, I can do something about it. 

2. Self-soothe: Broadly speaking, self-soothing means using the five senses as a tool to calm down. This can be through listening to music, eating, or smelling something enjoyable, and employing any other sense that brings you some sort of pleasure. It’s doing something small that can infuse some excitement into the task you need to accomplish. Practically, this could be preparing something small you could look forward  to in between tasks. In my case, this bounces between preparing either a small mound of dark chocolate chips (the best kind) to eat between pages, or a small playlist of songs that will ease some of the irritability that results from typing a research paper for 6 hours. 

In this way, self-soothing acts as an incentive to complete the task you're on, in addition to providing a small oasis of reprieve when enjoying your small break.  

3. Moment Improvement: While this may sound quite general, improving the moment is pretty specific to each individual. It involves thinking about anything that will shift your perspective on the moment. My favorite way to do this is to take a step back before doing the task and think about something that will make it meaningful. For something like a research paper, (which is harder for me to attach meaning to) I can think about how completing it will take me one step closer to my degree, which is one step closer to making the difference that I want to make. 

Attaching meaning in this way, is a sort of preventative measure. Even before starting, the task feels just a bit easier, more meaningful, and important.  

These tips are just a few that have helped me, and may help you to manage feelings of emotional overwhelm. You can check out this article on  Imaginal Exposure and Not Just for Crisis: How to Build a Daily Distress Tolerance Toolkit for other ideas as well.