Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) is widely known as an evidence-based treatment that can help people with mental health conditions such as borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-harming, substance abuse problems, and eating disorders. While DBT may be widely known, some people may be wondering what exactly is dialectical behavioural therapy? or should I consider taking dialectical behavioural therapy? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some signs that might mean you should consider taking dialectical behavioural therapy in your own life.
Not Sleeping
If you aren’t sleeping, it can increase your risk of depressive episodes and make you more likely to develop anxiety. Fortunately, sleep problems are common in people with mood disorders—and there are tons of ways to get them under control.
Unhealthy relationships
Are you having issues with a friend, family member, or loved one in your life? Are you thinking about DBT techniques to help fix what’s broken in your relationship? Are there unhealthy patterns occurring between you and a particular person in your life? Here are some signs that you might want to take DBT. If these signs are familiar for you, take a look at our helpful DBT guide.
Feelings of dissatisfaction and emptiness
DBT focuses on more than just anxiety and depression. While it’s a helpful addition to treatment for these issues, it can also be used to address other mental health concerns, such as body dysmorphic disorder, chronic anger issues and self-harm. If you’re feeling unsatisfied or empty often – especially if you think about suicide frequently – DBT therapy may be for you.
Emotional sensitivity
This is one of DBT’s primary areas of focus, and it’s an important skill to cultivate. Emotional sensitivity can often be mistaken for empathy—but they are different things. Empathy occurs when you imagine how someone else feels in a given situation; emotional sensitivity is about your own feelings and accurately identifying what they are. It’s actually important to be able to differentiate between these two concepts, because someone who understands their own emotions can still choose not to act on them.
Self-destructive behaviours
A first step to using DBT is to understand what behaviours might be self-destructive, and then to focus on making some changes. For example, you could try getting a list of DBT skills from your therapist and working through them one by one. The following are examples of self-destructive behaviours: cutting yourself, having an eating disorder (like anorexia or bulimia), not taking care of your body by exercising or eating right—or any behaviour that shows you don’t respect yourself.
Chaos in life
Our lives can be chaotic at times. Sometimes, it feels like our emotions and thoughts are ruling us. The thing about being in a state of anxiety or stress is that we need to take care of ourselves to prevent further situations of chaos. One way you can do so is by taking on DBT skills, or dialectical behavioral therapy techniques. It’s a form of therapy aimed to help people with emotional distress get through their feelings by using positive thought processes, which ultimately prevents negative emotional reactions from overwhelming them.
