In this video I will discuss ways to change emotions by using opposite action. Opposite action is a dialectical behavioural therapy or DBT skill that involves changing emotions by acting opposite to your emotional urge.

Examples of opposite action: Sarah is depressed and wants to stay in bed all day, she wants to isolate herself and avoid other people. This behaviour leads to Sarah feeling more and more depressed. Engaging in opposite action Sarah gets out of bed, has a shower, gets dressed, and meets up with her friend. Changing her behaviour helps Sarah change her mood. Trevor is socially anxious and avoids contact with other people. Engaging in opposite action Trevor calls a friend and arranges to meet up for a coffee at a quiet local cafe. Trevor is not denying his emotions or urges but he is challenging himself by acting opposite to his urge to withdraw.

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🔵 CHAPTERS

0:00 What is opposite action?
1:14 Five steps to opposite action
3:26 Opposite action all the way

🔵 STEP ONE: NAME THE EMOTION: What is the emotion you want to change? Anger, sadness, anxiety? You may need to tune into your body to identify the emotion.

🔵 STEP TWO: CHECK THE FACTS: Ask yourself, s my emotion a reasonable response given the situation? Is it justified by the facts? For example, you feel scared of walking through a dangerous part of town at night. That’s a justified emotion that you want to listen. You certainly do not act the opposite that. Sometimes emotions aren’t justified, for example, a car cuts you up and you feel really angry about it. You have the urge get out of your car and hit the other driver. That emotional urge is not justified. It would therefore be most helpful if you act opposite to your emotional urge and stay in your car, don’t react and continue driving.

🔵 STEP THREE: IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE YOUR ACTION URGES: What do you feel like doing? Do you feel like isolating yourself, hitting someone, drinking alcohol, self harming or over eating? What is your urge? Also what do you want to say? Remember, saying something can also be an urge.

🔵 STEP FOUR: ASK WISE MIND: Will acting on your urge make things better or worse? Will acting on your emotional urge solve the problem? Is expressing your emotions a wise thing to do in this situation? If you’re not sure what wise mind is, I have a video on wise mind here: [ Ссылка ]

🔵 STEP FIVE: ACT OPPOSITE TO THE EMOTION URGES: If you’ve got this far, you have decided that your emotion is not justified by the facts or acting on emotion will not be helpful in the situation. You should do the opposite action to your urges. For example, if you feel angry and want to attack someone the opposite action would involve either being kind or walking away.

Remember to do opposite action all the way, this means your facial expression, posture, what you say, how you say it and what you think. An example of half opposite action would be going to a birthday party to reduce your urge to avoid others but not interacting with others, sitting in a corner and looking down. True opposite action would involve going to the birthday party, talking to people, looking around the room, making eye contact and smiling at other people. You also need to keep practicing opposite action until you notice your emotions changing. This may take time so keep practicing.

🔵 ABOUT TERESA LEWIS

Teresa Lewis is the founder and Director of Lewis Psychology and a Senior Accredited psychotherapist with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Snr. Accred). Qualified in 1995, Teresa has been providing counselling and psychotherapy treatment for nearly 30 years. Teresa holds a masters degree in counselling and psychotherapy and is a qualified EMDR Practitioner having completed training accredited with EMDR Europe. Teresa is also a qualified adult educator and an accredited Mindfulness teacher As a recognised expert in her field Teresa is frequently asked to conduct editorial reviews and endorse counselling and psychotherapy books for international publishing houses.

☐ Email: teresa.lewispsy@gmail.com
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🔵 GRAPHICS AND THUMBNAIL

Thumbnail and B-Roll graphics by Teresa Lewis. B-Roll video is used in strict compliance with the appropriate permissions and licenses required from Pexels.com in accordance with the YouTube Partner Program, Community guidelines and YouTube terms of service.

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