3 Ways to Flex Your Distress Tolerance Muscle
Here’s a little story for you. I thought I was fairly distress tolerant … until we had to do rowing time trials at the end of a grueling workout. I
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What Is Distress Tolerance? (And Why It Matters.)
Recently I’ve become a bit obsessed with the idea of distress tolerance. It’s “An individual’s perceived or actual ability to withstand negative emotional or physical states” (Brown, Lejuez, Kahler, Strong
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Distraction: Love It or Leave It?
In my last article, I talked about Dr. Sally Winston’s notion of the “while.” Essentially, Dr. Winston suggests that we feel the feelings WHILE we take the action. You don’t
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Why You Want to Feel Anxious, and Do It Anyway
I can’t remember where I first heard Dr. Sally Winston talk about “the while,” but I do remember the light bulb going off. I was so excited because it made
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Urge Surfing: How to Ride Out an Urge
Coined by Dr. G Alan Marlatt, PhD, “urge surfing” is a term meant to help people ride out the desire or urge to do something that they really don’t want
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Mindfulness Isn’t What You Think It Is
One of my pet peeves (and I have many) is when people say, “mindfulness doesn’t work for me.” I always ask, “what did you expect it to do?” They invariably
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5 Tips for Handling Thanksgiving When You Have OCD
Here in the U.S., Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And then comes Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s … it can be a lot of pressure with expectations and togetherness.
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How to Support Someone With OCD
I think it’s probably fair to say that many of us have some level of fear around the holidays and Covid. Is being vaccinated enough? Will we unknowingly expose or
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Understanding Your Amygdala
If you’re at all familiar with the amygdala, you know it affects so much. And if you’re learning how to respond differently to your anxiety or OCD, understanding this part
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5 Ways to Get Out of Emotional Reasoning
We all engage in emotional reasoning, which is using our feelings as proof of something and/or allowing those feelings guide to guide our behavior. Who can’t relate to feeling something
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The Basics of Emotional Reasoning
Have you ever felt so sure that something bad, something horrific was about to happen? Your heart pounds and palms sweat. It must be true, because you feel it. Right?
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