What Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Can Teach Us About Coping With an Uncertain Future
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an effective, evidence-based therapeutic tool that teaches practical skills in the areas of Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotional Regulation and Distress Tolerance. It is considered an important tool in the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and a host of other mental health conditions. As it happens, it’s also a good tool for combating the very real and very understandable issue of Climate Anxiety.
How Can DBT Help with Coping?
At the most basic level, DBT posits that any problem can be solved in four distinct ways. Reading through the list below, you’ll notice there are three active solutions, and one that requires no action at all:
- You can actually SOLVE the problem.
- You can FEEL BETTER about the problem.
- You can ACCEPT/TOLERATE the problem.
- You can DO NOTHING and stay miserable.
But what do these options mean exactly? Let’s take a moment to explore them one by one.
SOLVING Climate Change
Solving a problem is always the best solution, yet, it’s not always a realistic option. When it comes to climate change, no one person on the planet has the ability to completely resolve the issue of greenhouse gas emissions. That said, each of us has the ability to do what we can. This might mean living small, cutting back on beef consumption, living in a walkable/bikeable neighborhood, buying an electric vehicle next time you’re in the market for a car, cutting back on plane trips, or any number of other things. In addition, you have the option of voting for leaders who care about climate change, supporting the work of climate activists and communicators, or creating innovative ideas, products and services. You may not be able to end the global crisis, but you can solve the smaller issue of your personal contribution
It’s true, you’re only one person. The change you make is a tiny drop in a very large bucket. It’s also true that climate change cannot be solved without your contribution. That bucket needs every drip. A jigsaw puzzle remains unfinished without every single piece. When many people acknowledge their carbon footprint and make necessary adjustments, the aggregate effect is very significant. In fact, it’s the only path to a complete solution.
Don’t get caught in the bystander effect! Don’t assume someone else will solve the problem! Be the change you want to see!
FEELING BETTER about Climate Change
While it’s very understandable to harbor deep-seated concerns about the planet we live on, it is also easy to catastrophize and engage in mental-filtering or all-or-nothing thinking. When we concentrate on our failures, it’s easy to lose sight of hopeful developments and the significant progress we’ve already made. Clean energy production has become 99% cheaper to build and implement than old-fashioned coal-burning power plants. A global solar power boom is underway, changing the way human kind generates energy, heats water, and fuels their vehicles. Speaking of electrified transportation, EV sales are growing year after year. And while there has been negative press regarding the ethical and environmental costs of mining vital battery components, or the strain EVs will put on our current power grid, these problems can (and will) be solved. Oil, coal and gas production is rife with its own ethical and environmental costs, and our current fossil fuel infrastructure didn’t leap into existence overnight. We’re moving in the right direction, but change takes time.
When you find yourself falling into a pit of despair, start asking questions. “Are my thoughts balanced? Are they evidence-based?” Put your thoughts on trial. Fact check. It won’t hurt, and it just might help relieve some anxiety!
In addition, you might try “reframing”. For example, when you think about problems that exist on a global scale, they can seem utterly hopeless and overwhelming. This is because your frame might be too big. Global problems require global solutions, and last time I checked, no one person has that much power. Try a smaller frame. Focus on your personal realm of influence. At the national level, you can help select leadership, you can make consumer choices, and support non-profits and activism. You’ll have even more influence at the regional and local levels, where your unique voice is more likely to stand out. You have still more power in your home, family, and close-knit communities. You have a choice. Use a frame that feels hopeful and empowering!
ACCEPTING or TOLERATING Climate Change
Learning to tolerate the distress of a bad situation is not as ideal as solving the problem, or even feeling batter about it. That said, it can be a way to find relief from intense emotions. DBT offers an entire suite of Distress Tolerance Skills ranging from those designed for crisis experiences to practical, everyday strategies for tolerating mild distress. Here are a few examples:
The TIPP Skill (Temperature, Intense exercise, Paired muscle relaxation, Paced breathing) offers quick and effective ways to calm your body when anxiety runs high.
The ACCEPTS Skill (Activities, Contributions, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts and Sensations), on the other hand, offers practical methods to lower our distress on a day to day basis.
One important distress tolerance skill is Radical Acceptance. Often, we add an additional layer of distress/anxiety when we struggle to accept certain unpleasant realities. While the stressor (climate change) is painful enough all on its own, we can amplify that distress by believing that things “should” be different. Just as a person who has lost their life savings might struggle to accept their new circumstances- holding on to outdated notions of what resources they used to have- doing so may prevent that person from embracing life as it currently is. Accepting the fact that climate change is happening, that you cannot solve it alone, and that human beings are a complicated and frustrating lot can help you end your fight against reality. That doesn’t mean you suddenly feel like everything’s fine. Nor does it mean sacrificing your values.
That person who lost their life savings might begin to improve their financial health through budgeting, saving and investment, If they practice radical acceptance along the way, they can do so without the added distress of feeling or believing that life should be anything other than what it is. Settling that fight against reality leaves room for the present, for joy, and for undistracted time with our loved ones. How would radical acceptance improve your life? What kind of difference could it make?
DOING NOTHING and STAYING MISERABLE
This last “solution” is really just the status quo, isn’t it? Doing nothing really is an option. You’re reading this post because you are anxious about the present and future of our climate. Your anxiety is so significant that you’re looking for tools and perspectives to help. If you do nothing at all, you can remain in that distress. That’s a choice you have. Problem is, it’s not a solution. Not really. It won’t help you solve the problem (or contribute to mitigation. Doing nothing won’t help you feel better. It won’t even help you deal with your distress. It only helps maintain the status quo (your very understandable climate anxiety).
So, rather than doing nothing, what’s the harm in dabbling in the above three strategies?
MORE RESOURCES
If you’d like to learn more about Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, there are a number of searchable sites online (Google, Psychology Today and YouTube are good sources). Focus on the four major skill areas: Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
If you’d like to make a therapy appointment, and you live in Washington State, you can do so by visiting my Psychology Today page and contacting me directly. I offer TeleHealth services statewide.
:), Susan Reimers, JD/LICSW
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