DBT Skills: Opposite Action

The Dysregulated Podcast

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Opposite action is a powerful DBT skill that helps us override our automatic emotional responses by choosing behaviours that counter what we're feeling. This skill works by strengthening neural connections between our prefrontal cortex and amygdala, physically changing our brain to improve emotional regulation.
• Identifying what emotion you're experiencing (anxiety, anger, sadness)
• Understanding what your emotion is urging you to do (avoid, lash out, isolate)
• Consciously choosing the opposite behaviour
• Taking action despite emotional discomfort
• Reflecting on the outcome and noticing positive effects
• Using opposite action to manage impulsivity and emotional reactivity

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Follow my journey living with mental illness and the hard-fought lessons learned along the way. Lived experience is the driving force of this podcast, and through this lens, my stories are told.
This is a raw, honest, and authentic account of how multiple psychological disorders have shaped my past and continue to influence my future.

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Chapters

1. DBT Skills: Opposite Action (00:00:00)

2. Episode Introduction and Personal Struggle (00:00:10)

3. Introducing Opposite Action (00:01:05)

4. How Opposite Action Works in DBT (00:05:15)

5. Steps to Practice Opposite Action (00:09:02)

6. Opposite Action Examples in Daily Life (00:12:54)

7. The Neuroscience Behind Opposite Action (00:17:18)

8. The Emotional Tipping Point Experience (00:25:29)

9. Benefits and Growth Through Practice (00:35:29)

10. Episode Closing and Future Topics (00:42:45)