Feeling overwhelmed by bad news? Running frantically from task to task? Experiencing emotional distress?
It's time to take a moment to STOP. Life is not a sprint. You need to pace yourself and take breaks.
Stop
Take a step back - this could involve taking some slow controlled breaths
Observe - both what is happening around you as well as inside you
Proceed mindfully
If you are having trouble with this last step, repeat the process and/or pair it with some other distress tolerance techniques such as the five senses activity or TIP. I encourage you to check out the video resources at the end of this blog post.
One day I realised that I had a missed call from a certain service provider. I would need to ring this provider back. At the time I was waiting for a scheduled phone call from someone else and I was therefore unable to ring the provider back straight away. I started becoming very anxious and distressed about the prospect of interacting with the provider as I hadn't had any contact with them before and I wasn't sure how easy they would be to work with. It was at this time that I remembered to STOP. At the last step, I considered how to proceed mindfully as my body was still teeming with stress hormones. Immediately, I remembered TIP. Well, I can't 'tip the temperature' (since I don't have access to anything cold), but I can do 'intense physical activity'. So, I got up and did 50 star jumps. By the time I had finished this intense physical activity, my body and mind were calm and I was just in time to attend my scheduled phone appointment. It worked.
Sometimes you need to STOP in order to go.
Resources:
Video explaining the STOP skill: DBT Distress Tolerance STOP Skill
Video explaining distress tolerance skills including the TIP skill and the STOP skill - DBT: Distress Tolerance Skills
If you are experiencing distress you don't have to face it alone. Call Lifeline: 13 11 14
