Posted by alexandra_k on October 2, 2006, at 2:44:47
In reply to I get upset way too easily, posted by Deneb on October 2, 2006, at 2:31:35
I get upset fairly easily sometimes too. Especially when I'm getting my period, or because I've had a bad nights sleep, or because I'm feeling a bit vulnerable, or because I am vulnerable because I really care about someone or something like that.
One thing I really really really really need to get back into doing is mindfulness meditation exercises. For me... They turned out to be distress tolerance exercises. I'd meditate and bad feelings would come. And I'd want to stop meditating to stop the bad feelings. But I made myself keep meditating, like you are supposed to. And I learned that while the bad feelings can be hard... They come and go a bit like waves. And while it hurts... It feels more manageable. I am going to start again tonight. Just start at 5 minutes for a few days, then maybe 10 minutes. I'm pretty sure that it helped me during the day when I felt upset about various things. And it helped me manage my upset when my upset got really bad.
There are some distress tolerance strategies that Linehan talks about. Would you like me to find them? I know some people were looking at the skills over on psychology, but the distress tolerance ones in particular were really very useful to me. And... I could do with practicing them. Because you need to practice them so they help when you need them.
It will get better, Deneb. I never used to be able to tolerate distress very well either. I'm still not the best at it (in fact I'm still pretty bad, I guess) but it is a whole heap better than it used to be, and I have to have faith that it will get a whole heap better still. And you have gotten a whole heap better with that in the time I have known you too :-)
poster:alexandra_k
thread:691052
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060922/msgs/691053.html