Distress tolerance skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) help you survive body-focused repetitive behaviors crisis without making things worse.
TIPP Skills for Acute Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
Temperature: Cold water on face activates the dive reflex, rapidly reducing body-focused repetitive behaviors intensity
Intense exercise: 20 minutes of vigorous exercise discharges body-focused repetitive behaviors physiological activation
Paced breathing: Slow the breath (especially exhale) to activate parasympathetic system
Progressive muscle relaxation: Systematic tension-release reduces body-focused repetitive behaviors physical symptoms
ACCEPTS Skills for Riding Out Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
Activities that engage attention away from body-focused repetitive behaviors Contributing to others shifts focus from body-focused repetitive behaviors Comparisons that provide perspective on body-focused repetitive behaviors Emotions opposite to body-focused repetitive behaviors — deliberately generated Pushing away body-focused repetitive behaviors temporarily when you can't act on it now Thoughts that replace body-focused repetitive behaviors rumination Sensations that provide strong alternative input
When Distress Tolerance Is the Right Skill for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors
Use distress tolerance when body-focused repetitive behaviors is intense but the situation can't change right now. The goal is surviving without making things worse — not solving body-focused repetitive behaviors.