Think of distress tolerance as a continuum where at one end people can be extremely intolerant of distress, and at the other end people can be extremely tolerant of distress. Fear and avoidance of the distress actually magnifies the experience of difficult situations or emotions.
Read MoreDistress Tolerance skills in DBT focus on providing a framework to help cope and survive during an emotional crisis. These skills are meant to be used as short-term solutions to get through emotional (and sometimes physical) intensity. Distress Tolerance skills are to help you get through situations in life when you cannot make changes for the better, and for any number of reasons, you cannot sort out your feelings well enough to make changes in how you feel.
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