ACCEPTS Skill#
Distress ToleranceWeek 4Wise mind ACCEPTS distressing thoughts#
Engage your brain to ground & stabilise emotions.
Activities#
Do something to occupy yourself.
- Call, e-mail, text, or visit a friend
- Watch a favourite movie or TV show
- Play your instrument or sing
- Play videogames; draw, cook, or bake
- Write in a journal; clean your room
- Go for a walk or exercise
- Read a book
- Listen to your iPod, go online and download music, apps
- Play a game with yourself or others
Contribute#
Contribute to (do something nice for) someone.
- Help a friend or sibling
- Make something nice for someone else
- Donate things you don’t need
- Surprise someone with a hug, a note, or a favour
- Volunteer
Compare#
Compare yourself to how you used to be, or how others have been coping.
- Compare how you are feeling now to a time when you were doing worse. Look at how far you’ve come.
- Think about others who are coping the same or less well than you.
- Look to others who have been able to push forward through similar experiences. What have they been doing to help themselves?
Emotions#
Create different emotions.
- Watch a funny TV show or emotional movie
- Listen to soothing or upbeat music
- Get active when you are sad
- Aim to create the opposite action to what you’re currently feeling.
Put it away#
Put away the painful situation temporarily.
- Leave the situation mentally by moving your attention and thoughts away
- Build an imaginary wall between you and the situation
- Put the pain in a box and on a shelf for a while
- Use worry time
Thoughts#
Replace your thoughts.
- Read; do word or number puzzles
- Count numbers, colours in a poster, tiles on a wall, anything
- Repeat the words to a song in your mind.
Senses#
Intensify other sensations.
- Hold or chew ice
- Listen to loud music
- Take a warm or cold shower
- Squeeze a stress ball
- Do sit-ups & push-ups
- Pet your dog or cat
- Use the TIPP skill