By: Alyson Dudley, MSW, RSW
As I write this blog, I’m thinking about March Break. Many of my clients, friends and family have discussed trips they are going on hoping to, as the name suggests, have a break. Even if a sunny vacation in the tropics is not in the budget, many others are hoping to have some sort of break from the daily routine of work and school. There are a few DBT skills related to this, including Pleasant Activities and Self-Care.
Pleasant Activities:
- Engaging in pleasant activities can work to Increase positive emotions and can help build up resilience and energy for more difficult times in our lives
- Try to do one pleasant activity each day (eg. Doing your nails, baking, watching a movie)
- Pay attention to your positive experiences and how they make you feel
- Bring your attention back gently to the activity if your mind wanders
- Try to participate fully in the activity
- Notice if worried thoughts are threatening to destroy your positive experience (eg. “I’m so disappointed that I only have one more day left of my vacation!” or “Ugh…I have so much work to do when I get back from vacation!”)
Self-Care:
- Taking care of ourselves allows us to be: –
- Healthier – physically, emotionally, and socially
- Better able to complete the tasks required for our lives
- Better able to support others
- Some examples of self-care could include:
- Self-soothing eg. A cup of tea or a warm bath
- Surrounding yourself with supportive family and friends
- Self-Compassion-treat yourself as you would treat a dear friend
- Rest and relax when needed -our bodies need time to restore
- Notice any difficult thoughts that might come up regarding self-care, such as, “I don’t deserve this” or “I don’t have time to care for myself”
- Consider if there is a more balanced approach available such as, “I am noticing that I am busy with a lot of tasks to accomplish AND it is important for me to ALSO take care of myself so I can enough energy”
In our often very busy world, it can be helpful to consider taking a break, having some fun/doing something pleasant and caring for ourselves!
From DBT® Skills Manual for Adolescents, by Jill H. Rathus and Alec L. Miller. Copyright 2015 by The Guilford Press.
Adapted from DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Adapted by permission.