Taking care of one’s mental and emotional health is as critical as being physically fit. Otherwise, it can lead to stress, trauma, and a range of other dangerous consequences. Fortunately, many treatments can help people deal with mild to severe cognitive health issues.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, often called DBT, is one such treatment that can help people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It is designed to enable people to deal with stressful situations, depression, and other complex challenges.
Does this therapy work?
The primary purpose of DBT is to help people live in the present, accept challenges as an inevitable part of life and learn to deal with them healthily. This therapy also helps improve relationships with others.
But remember, there is no set time after the therapy can succeed.
Moreover, DBT can truly work only when people invest the amount of time, commitment, patience, and effort that is required. They will need to do the “homework” given to them regularly and diligently participate in a group, individual, and phone counseling sessions, among other things.
While this particular therapy can help in numerous ways, you will notice a stark change more prominently in the following aspects.
- Cognitive and behavioral – When you invest fully in the therapy and cooperate with your therapist, you will soon begin to see a marked difference in your cognitive functioning. You will become more alert and start focusing on thoughts or beliefs that matter most to you. Also, you will be able to replace destructive behavior with a more stable and calm demeanor.
- Acceptance and significant change – You can change things only when you accept that they need to be changed, and DBT can help you do just that. It can empower you to accept difficult circumstances, analyze them correctly, and make the essential changes with ease.
- Communication – DBT can help people communicate better with their colleagues, friends, and families. Moreover, group sessions can help them deliver messages effectively to several people simultaneously.
- Support and skill set – Dialectical Behavior Therapy can help you develop new skill sets or polish your existing ones to a massive extent. It can also ensure that you use these skills effectively to support and help others in similar situations like yourself.
Who qualifies for DBT?
DBT primarily treats people with Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, who often have a dangerous inclination toward self-harm. It has a proactive approach that can effectively reduce suicidal tendencies in BPD sufferers, helping them deal control intense emotional reactions and combat stress.
But there are certainly other issues that DBT can help with too. Some of them are as follows.
- Eating disorders
People often overeat or stop eating as a way to deal with emotional and mental pain. DBT is an excellent way to help them overcome these intense feelings and learn to respond to challenging situations in a healthy way. Invariably, it can effectively treat people with bulimia, anorexia, binge-eating, and other severe disorders.
- Depression and anxiety
People who do not know how to correctly handle emotions often end up becoming highly anxious about almost everything. Unfortunately, severe anxiety can often lead to chronic depression, taking away a person’s ability to be mentally and emotionally healthy. DBT can help people suffering from these ailments by addressing their emotional health and showing them effective coping strategies.
- Suicidal behavior
Many people battle suicidal thoughts every day, as they do not have confidants or other family members to speak to about their troubles. In tragic instances, people give in to these thoughts and end up taking their lives or harming themselves severely in the process. DBT can help them deal with these tendencies and eliminate them over time.
Besides the above issues, DBT can also help people battle debilitating addictions to gambling, food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, and other things.