“Fake it till you make it” DBT Tools for Acting Opposite
United States Department of Homeland Security
Key Points
- Every emotion has an urge associated with it.
- Ineffective urges make an emotion more intense and a problem even worse.
- Effective urges stabilize emotions and resolve or deescalate the issue at hand.
- Intense emotions cause problematic urges. Problematic urges cause intense emotions. The way out is to act opposite.
- Acting opposite never feels natural, that’s why it’s an act.
- We can do this with words, behaviors, imagery, posture, or temperature.
