DON’T think about the elephant in the room ok? Focus on the man in the picture instead…
The funny thing about stress is that thinking about it makes you even more stressed 😫 It’s a never-ending cycle 🔁
Stress is a natural thing that happens to us differently throughout every day. Once it becomes compounded, the smallest thing can stress us out (heard the saying “the straw that broke the camels back?)
Distress tolerance helps manage the build up of physical, mental, and emotional stress. Distress tolerance is our ability to manage stress without letting it take over our entire mental state.
Here are 10 Ways to build distress tolerance
- Mindfulness can help you observe your emotions without reacting impulsively.
- Slow, deep breaths can activate the body's relaxation response and help you stay calm in stressful situations.
- Ground yourself. Eg: Ffocus on the sensation of your breath, touch an object and describe its texture, or listen attentively to your surroundings.
- Practice Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to stay away from numbing tendancies: Develop a more flexible and open attitude toward distressing thoughts and feelings.
- Distract yourself positively
- Cultivate healthy relationships and communicate openly with friends, family, or a therapist.
- Reframe negative thoughts to stay out of catastophizing
- Keep your toolbox handy: This could include a favorite book, a playlist of calming music, or a list of positive affirmations.
- Be kind and speak kindly to yourself!
- Gameplan for handling extreme distress. This may involve reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional when needed.
Working on your distress tolerance could make more of a difference to your overall wellbeing than you realise.
You've got this⚡️
READ MORE ABOUT DISTRESS TOLERANCE HERE