DBT · 15 min

Opposite Action

Opposite action is a DBT skill for times when a feeling pushes a behavior that makes life smaller. You choose the action on purpose and write how it felt, without pretending the feeling left.

Write the emotion and the urge that came with it, such as hiding, snapping, or shutting the laptop on a needed task.

Say whether the urge matches the present facts or an older alarm. Give one concrete reason for your answer.

Choose a small opposite action you can do in the next day. Describe it so a friend could see whether you did it.

Write how you will do that action with your face, posture, and words, not only halfway. Keep the size kind.

Note what the emotion did, what you did, and whether you would repeat the same move. A mixed result still counts as practice.

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