Distress Tolerance Made Easy: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills for Dealing with Intense Emotions in Difficult Times

Based in proven-effective DBT, a take-anywhere guide to help you balance emotions and stay cool—even when life feels intense.

No matter how #blessed you are, sometimes life can feel downright overwhelming. Whether it’s a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or even a global pandemic, you may need a little extra help managing the difficult emotions that can arise when things are not going so great. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a proven-effective and evidence-based treatment that can help you find balance and improve your ability to handle adversity without losing control and acting destructively.

This potent and portable guide focuses on one of the core skills of DBT: distress tolerance. With this book, you’ll learn that you are strong enough to weather life’s storms. You can handle whatever stress or setback life throws your way. And you can face your own difficult thoughts and feelings head on—without avoidance, anger, or despair.

Life happens. But you don’t have to get pulled under. With Distress Tolerance Made Easy, you’ll learn tons of tips and tricks to help you keep your cool—even when those emotional triggers strike. Why not keep a copy on your nightstand, in your glove box, or on your work desk? You never know when you’ll need it!

Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, is a psychotherapist, and renowned dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) expert. She is author of several books, including Calming the Emotional Storm, Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens, and The DBT Skills Workbook for Teen Self-Harm. Her books focus on using DBT skills to help people manage their emotions and cultivate lasting well-being. She is also the recipient of the R.O. Jones Award from the Canadian Psychiatric Association.
 
Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, including Self-Esteem, Thoughts and Feelings, When Anger Hurts, and ACT on Life Not on Anger. McKay received his PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, and specializes in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression. He lives and works in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
 
Jeffrey C. Wood, PsyD, lives and works in Las Vegas, NV. He specializes in brief therapy treatments for depression, anxiety, and trauma. He also provides coaching for spiritual development, communication skills development, and life skills. Wood is coauthor of The New Happiness, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, and The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Diary.
 
Jeffrey Brantley, MD, is professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry and human behavior at Duke University Medical Center. He is founder and former director of the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at Duke Integrative Medicine. He has represented the Duke MBSR program in numerous radio, television, and print interviews. He is author of Calming Your Anxious Mind, and coauthor of the Five Good Minutes series.
 
Patrick Fanning is a professional writer in the mental health field, and founder of a men’s support group in Northern California. He has authored and coauthored twelve self‑help books, including Self‑Esteem, Thoughts and Feelings, Couple Skills, and Mind and Emotions.
 
Erica Pool, PsyD, earned her doctorate at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA; and has clinical and research experience at the University of California, Berkeley; and the VA Northern California Health Care System; and has consulted with mental health start-ups. The goal of her work is to understand processes at the core of human suffering to help craft individualized and culturally responsive treatments.
 
Patricia E. Zurita Ona, PsyD, “Dr. Z,” is a psychologist specializing in working with and creating compassionate, research-based, and actionable resources for overachievers and overthinkers to get them unstuck from worries, fears, anxieties, perfectionism, procrastination, obsessions, and ineffective ‘playing it safe’ actions. She is founder of the East Bay Behavior Therapy Center—a boutique practice where she offers therapy and coaching services based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and contextual behavioral science (CBS). She has been nominated as a fellow of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science for her contributions to the applications of ACT to specific fear-based struggles.