Module 3. Emotion Regulation: (Discussion #7) Opposite Action
DBTuesday is a series of posts where we explore skills and concepts from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
What is opposite action
Emotions are accompanied by an action urge of wanting to respond in a certain way. Opposite action involves exploring whether our action urges are helpful and if not then acting differently.
The benefits of this are:
- It can prevent you from doing something harmful that might make the situation worse
- It can gradually reduce the strength of the emotion that you’re feeling if it’s unpleasant
Four steps for opposite action
1) Identify the emotion: How are you feeling?
2) Identify the action urge: What do you have an urge to do while feeling that way?
3) Identify whether the action urge fits the situation: Looking only at the facts of the situation, will it be helpful to act on the urge?
4) If not, do the opposite: If the action urge doesn't fit the situation, do the opposite of whatever you have the urge to do.
Examples of opposite action
Anger
- Action urge = verbally or physically attack someone, express your angry feelings
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Opposite action = be polite and kind, walk away, distract yourself with something pleasant
Anxiety/fear
- Action urge = run or hide, escape danger
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Opposite action = approach the situation, stay involved in it, have courage
Sadness/depression
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Action urge = be inactive, avoid activities and people
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Opposite action = be active, do something that makes you feel confident and competent, seek support, talk to people
Shame
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Action urge = isolate or hide what you feel ashamed of
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Opposite action = discuss it with someone and bring it to light
Guilt
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Action urge = try to repair the situation, apologize, seek forgiveness
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Opposite action = tolerate temporary discomfort
Reflection
What is a situation where you could apply opposite action? What opposite action would you do?
Sources:
https://sunrisertc.com/opposite-action/
https://dbtselfhelp.com/dbt-skills-list/emotion-regulation/opposite-action/
https://dbt.tools/emotional_regulation/opposite-action.php
https://dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com/emotion-regulation/balancing-emotional-urges/
Just taking this thread out of the needs-reply queue. 😊
Personally, something I've been doing recently is making myself get up and do some light exercise if I'm feeling really tired/apathetic. (In terms of the bulleted lists in the original post, this would fall under "be active" as an opposite action for sadness/depression where the action urge is "be inactive".)
