Category Archives: Behavior Change
← Older postsThird wave behavior therapies, functions of behavior, depression, and dead conversations
Have you ever had a conversation with someone that you really cared about that ended up with them saying something like: “I’m not good enough.” “I don’t deserve that.” “I’m not worth it.” As a recipient of this conversation, you … Continue reading
Not on track with your New Year? Consider these 27 stages of change:
Be reminded on some gut level of why you want or need to change Avoid everything related to changing Consider those who have changed Compare yourself to those whose lives are different Attack yourself for not changing Start to take … Continue reading
A guest blog post from Rachel Gargano: The food-mood connection
Rachel Gargano is a registered dietician practicing out of Stoneham, MA (www.rgnutritionandwellness.com). The following is a guest blog written by Rachel: The Food-Mood Connection Ever eat a meal or snack and end up feeling completely unsatisfied? As though your stomach may … Continue reading
Pleasant events and positive life experiences
One way in which we buffer negative emotion, stressful life events, and painful circumstances is to create opportunities for positive emotion, tell people about these opportunities, and plan activities and events in our lives that we look forward to doing. … Continue reading
How to change the behavior of someone you care about deeply
First, acknowledge what you cannot control. When others do things that are destructive, hurtful, irritating, annoying, or have painful consequences, the acknowledgement itself is simply a way in which you are looking and seeing what is actually going on. Not … Continue reading
Is your anxiety helping or hurting you?
1) Figure out the benefit(s) of your anxiety. Anxiety is beneficial when it activates us to solve problems or gets us moving on a task or activity. Our anxiety may be the push we need to speak up or speak … Continue reading
For people who overeat and binge eat: The Appetite Awareness Workbook by Linda Craighead.
Problematic eating can occur when people are heavily relying on external cues, such as disapproval, criticism, serving sizes, food availability, calorie counting, or food rules. When people rely on external factors to determine the amount eaten, they often fail to … Continue reading
Biological factors, physical well-being, and emotional vulnerability
One of the DBT skills for regulating emotions is to make yourself less prone to negative emotions by taking care of biological factors. This is because biological factors influence mood! How would your emotions change if you were doing everything … Continue reading
Should you change your behavior or change your beliefs? A closer look at self-compassion.
Social psychology research indicates that it is easier to change behavior than it is to change attitudes or beliefs. Part of what characterizes third wave behavior therapies (such as DBT) is behavioral activation. In other words, there is a focus … Continue reading
Improvements in behavior
DBT skills groups are often structured so that clients in the groups do homework for week to week. The homework assignments might include ways of problem-solving emotions, finding ways of being attentive or mindful when in distress, or effectively approaching … Continue reading