Difficult situations are a part of life, and not every problem can be solved right away. While some challenges have quick fixes, others take time and require us to stay calm even when things feel hard. That’s where distress tolerance comes in — it’s a DBT skill that helps people get through tough times without making things worse, and it’s known to strengthen emotional control.
The DBT Distress Tolerance Skills PDF handout shares helpful ways to manage big emotions in a safe and healthy way. It introduces simple techniques like distraction, calming strategies, and acceptance to help young people stay steady when things feel overwhelming. It highlights eight distress tolerance skills taught in DBT, including STOP, TIPP, Radical Acceptance, and more.
Using distress tolerance skills helps kids and teens avoid acting on impulse and learn better ways to handle stress. Whether they are feeling frustrated, anxious, or unsure, these tools can help them stay calm — like taking deep breaths, holding a comfort object, or thinking of something peaceful.
Therapists can add this handout to their DBT program or use it as a reminder for kids and teens who may benefit from extra support managing intense emotions. Caring adults can also use it as a conversation starter or post it in calm spaces where young people can go to regroup when emotions run high.
We also offer a What Is Distress Tolerance handout for additional information on the skill.
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References:
- Alfonsson, S., Mardula, K., Toll, C., Isaksson, M., & Wolf-Arehult, M. (2022). The self-efficacy in distress tolerance scale (SE-DT): A psychometric evaluation. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00195-9
- Singh, S. (2013). The role of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) in enhancing the distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness amongst adolescents. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(4), 551.
- Zeifman, R. J., Boritz, T., Barnhart, R., Labrish, C., & McMain, S. F. (2020). The independent roles of mindfulness and distress tolerance in treatment outcomes in dialectical behavior therapy skills training. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 11(3), 181-190. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000368
