Summary of Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood & Jeffrey Brantley's The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Overwhelming emotions are when you experience intense pain that is difficult to cope with. People who struggle with this often use unhealthy, unsuccessful coping strategies because they don't know what else to do. #2 To avoid long-term suffering, you must learn how to cope with your pain in a healthy way.
Distraction skills help you get away from situations that are causing you emotional pain, and self-soothing skills help you calm down and relieve your pain. #3 The first distress tolerance strategy you need to learn is REST. It reminds you to: relax, evaluate, set an intention, and take action. First, stop what you're doing and freeze for a few seconds. Then, ask yourself what's happening in the situation.
Remember to not act impulsively. #4 The first step in changing your self-destructive and problematic behaviors is to identify and anticipate when you will likely have to use REST. When you do, it's usually an indicator that something is happening that will require you to make a choice: either you'll act impulsively and do what you normally do, or you'll use one of the coping skills in this book.