Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your Life: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Put You in Control (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) - Softcover

Scott E. Spradlin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1572243090 ISBN 13: 9781572243095

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications, 2003

Synopsis

There’s a wide spectrum of emotional sensitivity, and it varies from one person to another. Some people oscillate between over-control and over-expression. Others stuff or hide their emotions for months before they finally blow their stack and “stand up for them selves” through overly aggressive behaviors.

People diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) for example, are are often emotionally sensitive, and may have problems with emotion dysregulation, but they aren’t the only ones who have trouble with managing emotions―we all do. There have probably been times in each of our lives when we can remember not being in our “right mind.”

When we are regularly undone by our emotions, we become victims of damaged relationships, trapped circumstances, self-sabotage, and illness. Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your Life offers help to all of us who want to gain the upper hand on our feelings and our lives. Even high reactors, people disposed to experiencing strong, even overwhelming emotions on a regular basis, will find its strategies easy to use and effective at managing frequent emotional flare-ups.

This book develops proven dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) techniques into worksheets, exercises, and assessments that show you how to pay attention to emotions when they arise, assess blocks to controlling them, and overcome them to eliminate overpowering feelings. Learn what emotional triggers exist in your environment and become less judgmental about yourself when you do experience a surge. Avoid or reduce the distress that strong emotions cause you. This workbook teaches you to reduce the impact of painful feelings and increase the effects of positive ones so that you can tolerate life's ongoing stresses and achieve a sense of calm coexistence with your emotions.

About this title

From the Publisher

When we are regularly undone by our emotions, we become victims of damaged relationships, trapped circumstances, self-sabotage, and illness. In this breakthrough new workbook, a psychologist who has had amazing results treating patients with emotional problems, helps all of us gain the upper hand on our feelings and our lives.

Many of us know the helpless predicament of losing control of our emotions. We may not be clinically "crazy" but instead "high reactors," experiencing overpowering feelings that knock us off balance, plunge us into depression, make us fly off the handle, or terrify us without warning.

We can anticipate, understand, avoid and replace these "high reactions" by applying the methods of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is an eclectic mix of cognitive-behavioral techniques, skills training, Zen, and existentialism, that has been honed for the treatment of the highest reactors among us.

From the Inside Flap

Do you feel out of control of your emotions?

Many of us know the awful predicament of losing control of our emotions. We may not be clinically "crazy" but instead "high reactors," experiencing overpowering feelings that knock us off balance, plunge us into depression, make us fly off the handle, or terrify us without warning.

When we are regularly undone by our emotions, we become victims of damaged relationships, trapped circumstances, self-sabotage, and illness. In this breakthrough new workbook, a therapist who has had amazing results treating patients who have problems managing their emotions, helps all of us gain the upper hand on our feelings and our lives.

The proven effective techniques contained in Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life help us anticipate, understand, avoid, and replace these "high reactions" by applying the methods of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). The therapeutic technique of DBT is an eclectic mix of cognitive behavioral techniques, skills training, and Buddhist wisdom. With worksheets, assessment exercises, and step-by-step guidance author Scott Spradlin translates the secrets of DBT for the rest of us. Step-by-step he’ll show you how to eliminate overpowering feelings so that you may go on to tolerate life’s ongoing stresses with a sense of calm co-existence with your emotions.

"Many people feel emotionally out of control—their overpowering feelings trap them in bouts of anger, depression, and panic. DBT is a proven, highly effective treatment to reduce the impact of painful emotions and increase the effect of positive ones. Therapists are lining up at workshops to learn the groundbreaking techniques this book can teach you. I strongly recommend this book."

- Matthew McKay, Ph.D., coauthor of The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook and Thoughts & Feelings

Edition details

• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1572243090
• ISBN 13: 9781572243095
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216