PsychBytes with CCS
PsychBytes is presented by The Ohio State University, Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service. We provide a wide range of information pertaining to mental health topics, commonly asked questions, available resources, and general psycho-education that centers on the college demographic. The aim is to reduce stigma around mental health, reduce barriers to treatment, normalize experiences, and educate on prevention, intervention, and resources related to emotional and mental wellbeing.
PsychBytes with CCS
Quick Skills: ACCEPTS
In this quick skills episode, learn how to increase distress tolerance using the acronym ACCEPTS.
PsychBytes with CCS is a weekly podcast hosted by Student Life's Counseling and Consultation Service. This show is dedicated to discussing a wide range of topics pertaining to mental health commonly experienced in the college setting. It is important to note that this podcast is not a substitute for therapy. All of the topics on this show, while discussed by professionals, are strictly psychoeducational and meant to inform listeners on available resources, skills, and support. Topics on this show can be sensitive in nature, and should you find yourself needing additional support or resources, please visit ccs.osu.edu or call us at 614-292-5766. With that in mind, enjoy the show. What is up everyone and welcome to PsychBytes with CCS. My name is Josh and today I am back with another quick skills episode. And for today's topic, I want to focus on distress tolerance or the ability to cope with uncomfortable emotions. And to do that, I want to introduce you to an acronym called ACCEPTS, which comes from Dialectical Behavior Therapy or DBT. And the whole purpose of this is to help you build a toolbox of sorts to better deal with, manage, distract, away from uncomfortable emotions when you don't know how to better manage them in the moment. So starting with A, that is going to represent activities. And this is simply asking you to go and find something else to do other than worry and ruminate on the emotion that you're struggling with. This can be as simple as reading a book, putting on a movie to watch, going for a walk and observing your surroundings, calling a friend and chatting with them. Anything you can think of is generally going to be fairly effective here. So get out there and find something to do. The first C and accepts represents contributing and it's asking that you go out and do something that allows you to focus on another person. This can be calling and checking in on a friend or a family member. It can be volunteering somewhere. It can be as simple as holding the door for a stranger. Doesn't matter. As long as I'm doing something for somebody else, I'm taking myself out of my own head in that moment. The second C is going to be comparisons. And it's all about putting my situation into perspective by comparing it to maybe a time in my own life where I was doing worse, or maybe comparing my situation to another person who might be objectively having a harder time than I am. And what this does is it allows me to identify my own resilience, my own ability to overcome situations or deal with situations better than I have in the past. E is going to represent emotions. And this is asking that you do something to create a new emotion that will directly compete with the distressing emotion that you're trying to alleviate. So, how do we do this? Well, there's all kinds of media out there that is designed to elicit very specific emotions, whether you're thinking of movies, literature, podcasts, music, there's all kinds of stuff out there that is going to bring about different kinds of emotions. If you think about like an OSU football game, the band isn't out there playing somber, quiet music. They're playing music that's high tempo, high beats per minute to get you hyped up, to elicit an emotion of energy and excitement. So go out there, find different media that brings about desired emotions in you. P is going to represent pushing away. And this is going to ask you to use a little bit of imagery to kind of imagine yourself taking the emotion, putting it in a box, duct taping it shut, putting it on a shelf, and walking away from it for a little bit. By doing this, we kind of separate us from the emotion. And in doing this kind of guided imagery, we can really create a sense of genuine separation. T is going to represent thoughts and it's going to ask us to keep our mind busy so I don't have a bunch of empty real estate for my brain to wander and worry about whatever. So, how do I do this? It's a lot easier than you might think. Count backwards from 100, count ceiling tiles, name as many animals as you can going in alphabetical order. Think of all your favorite candy bars and rank them from most favorite to least favorite. It doesn't matter. Any little thing that's going to give your brain a task can be highly, highly effective at moving away from the distressing thought that we're struggling with. And finally, S is going to represent sensations. And this is asking you to create safe physical sensations to distract from the upsetting emotion. This can be taking a hot shower. This can be holding an ice cube in your hand and feeling it melt. This can be eating something that is sour or sweet or spicy. Anything that's going to bring about a physical sensation that you can focus on safely until the emotion subsides. And that's it. That is distress tolerance via ACCEPTS. You can build on each one of these. There is so much more than just the few examples that I gave. So go out there, practice, see what works for you, and just keep expanding that toolbox. So that's all I have for today. Keep your eyes peeled for future episodes. Until then, I'm Josh, and this has been Psych Bytes with CC.