How DBT skills can help manage eating disorder behaviors

One major advantage of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is that it is based on skill acquisition and development. This encompasses four distinct types of skills: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. Using these skills, people successfully manage not only behavioral challenges, but they also manage challenging emotions and thoughts. 

DBT skills are useful for treating many types of conditions and mental health problems, and are particularly helpful for managing behaviors related to eating disorders. Eating disorders aren’t just trouble with developing the right body image, or knowing the right foods to eat. They’re a very difficult, very individual experience that involves destructive behaviors, painful thoughts, and overwhelming emotions. 

A person with an eating disorder who doesn’t have help managing their behaviors can feel out of control and powerless to counter the eating disorder on their own. Even if they recognize that what they are doing is harmful, it’s hard to stop without structure and support. 

The eating disorder treatment team at Suffolk DBT on Long Island and Manhattan is here to give you that support and structure. We know you have it in you to change your life for the better, and we’ve compiled this list of ways DBT skills can break this cycle and help you better manage an eating disorder.

How Do You Manage Eating Disorder Behaviors? Start with Mindfulness

Mindfulness is more than simply meditating or being more aware of your breathing. It’s about getting back in touch with both your mind and your body in the present moment. Many who struggle with eating disorders have a distorted and unhealthy view of their own bodies fueled by negative thoughts. Eating disorders can cause a feeling of detachment from yourself and from the present moment, making it hard to anchor yourself and understand how the mind and body are connected to one another.

Mindfulness as a DBT skill includes becoming aware of your thoughts, and the feelings connected to those thoughts, without trying to judge or change them. If you sit as an impartial observer of your thoughts and feelings, you might notice:

• Intense, distorted thoughts around your body and body image.
• All-or-nothing, judgmental beliefs about food and eating.
• Insights into the roots of why you experience this distress.

 

When you have an eating disorder, you’re being pushed to make constant judgments on yourself, your eating, your appearance, and can even lead to judging others. Swapping that judgment for mindful experiencing of a moment, a meal, the way you look, or the way other people manage their food and weight, can help you push back against the harmful thoughts and behaviors that come with eating disorders.

Interpersonal Effectiveness and DBT

Another skill you learn in DBT is interpersonal effectiveness. Interpersonal effectiveness involves learning new communication skills to preserve your relationships and your self-respect. These skills empower you to better express what you are feeling and experiencing to someone else without allowing emotional overwhelm to derail a conversation into a shutdown or blow-up.

With DEAR MAN, GIVE, and FAST DBT skills, you can more accurately describe what is happening to you. You’ll also get better at communicating your desires and wishes in a manner that is strengths-based. You can embrace your existing abilities and strengthen areas where you have room to grow, helping you develop an effective solution to any interpersonal problem.

Using Distress Tolerance

Distress tolerance is your ability to handle or manage stressful situations as they arise. Distress is a major driver for eating disorders, so learning different ways to manage your distress can help you manage eating disorder behaviors. With DBT, you can cope with the distress rather than give in to it. Some examples of distress tolerance include:

• Distracting yourself with pleasant sensations or experiences, focusing your attention away from what is causing the stress.
• Visualizing a calm and soothing place or a scenario different from the one you are in. This helps to calm yourself through the worst of your distress, so you are more capable of facing dealing with the here-and-now.
• Weighing the pros and cons of the situation and your ability to handle it effectively.
•  “Radical Acceptance”: This is where you unconditionally accept yourself or a situation without judgment. It is what it is, and you don’t try to change things, argue with them, or wish them away.
  
  

Note that it takes practice to both learn and use these skills effectively. That’s why it’s helpful to practice distress tolerance skills when you feel calm, centered, and capable of doing so, especially in supportive spaces like individual therapy or DBT skills group therapy with Suffolk DBT.

Practicing Emotion Regulation

An important part of DBT skill development is emotion regulation. That’s because, when you are struggling with an eating disorder, you might not understand the precise emotions behind the behavior. You know you might feel bad, or experience stress, but you may not yet understand more than that. You practice emotional regulation by:

• Identifying the emotions you are experiencing and naming them.
• Encouraging emotional vulnerability by planning an activity each day that you actually enjoy doing. These allow you to relax, let your guard down, and be more present.
• Decrease or reduce emotional suffering by either choosing to let go of hurtful feelings or deciding to do the opposite of what your negative thinking tells you to do in the moment.
• Reducing your vulnerability to difficult emotions by taking care of your health and well-being. 

How Does Suffolk DBT Support People To Manage eating disorders?

As you can see, these DBT skills all have a useful role in treating the effects of eating disorders. Mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation empower you to take back control over your life from the eating disorder. Instead of your eating disorder taking control, with DBT you can take charge again. 

You can practice DBT skills on your own, but to get the most out of DBT you need expert support from therapists who have the experience needed to guide people in using DBT to reclaim their lives. Reach out today to learn more about how DBT will help with your eating disorder. Click here for more information on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Suffolk DBT proudly provides quality dialectical behavior therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, at their offices in Manhattan and Long Island, New York and online. Their experienced therapists specialize in serving teens, children, adults, and college students struggling with depression, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, and self-harm. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills and treatment can help you or your kids to manage emotions and work through life’s challenges. Suffolk DBT Manhattan and Long Island offer a free screening call so you can get started right away.

Frequently Asked Questions About Eating Disorder Treatment