Release Negative Emotions | 15-Minutes

Do you ever notice yourself wanting to withdraw, lash out, avoid, or completely shut down, even though it's not helpful?

This 15-Min DBT Opposite Action practice helps you step out of emotional reactions and respond differently to difficult feelings like anxiety, shame, sadness, anger, and fear. Instead of automatically acting on the urge, you’ll practice responding intentionally.

You can sit or lie down comfortably. As you do this practice, you may notice your emotions feel less intense, your thoughts become clearer, and a stronger sense of calm, confidence, and emotional balance begin to return.

Return to this during emotional overwhelm, avoidance, shame spirals, anger, conflict, big feelings or anytime you know your emotions are pushing you toward patterns that are unhelpful. With regular practice, it can become easier to respond from values instead of impulse.

If this helped, check out my "Therapy Tools & Techniques" playlist.

Music: The Inner Calling by Music of Wisdom

Transcript

If you are feeling a strong emotion right now, Maybe a part of you wants to avoid things, Maybe it wants to shut down, Pull away, Or react impulsively, Then this practice is for you. Take a moment now to notice what emotion is present in your body right now, Simply noticing for example, Fear, Guilt, Maybe you are feeling more than one emotion, Then you can choose the one that feels the strongest, Then the emotion might be causing an urge which says push back, Fear might say get away, Avoid them, You deserve to be punished, That comes with the emotion that you are feeling right now. They bring certain urges but those urges are not you act on the urge that you are feeling right now, Emotion fit the situation, Emotion based on bend in this situation, For a presentation or a work meeting is not fitting the facts of the situation, Then this feeling is giving you a distorted signal, Means it is recommended to practice emotion which I will share, Then will it make things better or will it make them worse, Another way to ask yourself this question is or is it pulling me away from it, This question will tell you whether acting on this urge, Whether it is effective or not for your given situation, So take a moment to reflect on that regarding the urge that was that it would be ineffective, Then let's move on to the main part which is the opposite action, Ask yourself what can be an opposite action to the urge that you are feeling right now, If fear is causing an urge to avoid things then the opposite action is to stay, To approach that situation and to do that thing that you want to avoid in small steps, Keep your posture open, If sadness saves, Stay in bed and then you get up, If guilt over a small mistake or over setting boundaries is excessive then the opposite action is to stop over apologizing, Re-engage with your life, Is to congratulate, Act with dignity, What can be an opposite action to the urge that you are feeling right now, Doing the opposite of your emotional urge when the emotions doesn't fit the facts of the situation and are unhelpful, Then acting differently can soften and reduce suffering over time, You did great, Then to take a deep breath in and without breath letting go of this practice, Noticing the support beneath you and if your eyes were closed, You can gently open them