Having strong emotions can be a great thing: you can feel intense joy, happiness, and excitement. The flip side of this is that you may also feel negative emotions intensely as well, including sorrow and anger.
No one is immune from an occasional fit of rage, but if you experience this more and more often, it may be time to seek outside help. There are forms of therapy that are especially effective in managing anger. One effective form of therapy for anger management is DBT.
If you are interested in learning more, keep reading.
What Is DBT?
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a modified version of traditional talk therapy that focuses on individuals with intense emotions. Created in the 1970s, it was founded to treat borderline personality disorder. In modern practice, DBT has a wider array of applications outside of BPD.
While some other forms of therapy focus solely on your thoughts, DBT teaches people how to live more presently. We do this through emotional regulation, healthy coping mechanisms for stress and other mental health concerns, and relationships with others. DBT has four main pillars it focuses on, including:
- Distress tolerance
- Mindfulness
- Interpersonal effectiveness, or relationship health
- Emotional regulation
Practicing DBT can be done in one-on-one sessions with your therapist or in a group setting. This is however not traditional group therapy like you may be imagining. DBT groups are essentially classes where the material focuses on engaging in better mental health practices.
The Benefits of Practicing DBT
While practicing DBT, the focus will be on your attitude and how it affects your view of the world. In doing this, you will learn many skills, focusing on the validation of your thoughts and feelings. After some time, you will notice a change in your attitude and that you are more self-accepting of your thoughts and feelings.
Some additional benefits of practicing DBT are:
- Expanding your emotional toolbox: The coping mechanisms taught in DBT are also incredibly effective at managing anger. Sometimes, all you need are a few coping skills to help you regulate your more overwhelming emotions.
- More positive thoughts: The goal of DBT is to help you reframe your thoughts to be more self-serving. Eventually, you should notice that you have much fewer unhelpful or negative thoughts.
- Acceptance of your surroundings: Sometimes our environment holds us back. Rather than being angry at your current situation, DBT helps you to reframe your thoughts to be more accepting. You will also be encouraged to make positive changes in your surroundings.
Emotional Regulation and DBT
Since one of the four pillars of DBT is emotional regulation, there is a lot of emphasis on it throughout practicing DBT. Three ways emotional regulation is taught are through:
- Reducing emotional vulnerability
- Understanding your emotions
- Decreasing emotional suffering
Anger flare-ups can make you feel out of control and overwhelmed. With the help of DBT emotional regulation skills, you can work on keeping your anger under control. At the very least, you will see a big difference in how often these flare-ups occur and how impactful they are in your life.
Learning About Radical Acceptance
Radical acceptance is a DBT principle that focuses on accepting every part of yourself, even the parts you may not like all that much. By reframing your thoughts to accept every part of your life, you will notice a decrease in emotional triggers, thus making it easier to manage your anger.
If you are interested in learning more about DBT and seeing if this treatment approach is effective for your therapeutic goals, we can explore the ins and outs of this therapy method. Reach out to us today at Mindworthy Therapy to learn more and get started.
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