One of the components of DBT is distress tolerance. All of us have a range of what we feel we can or cannot tolerate, when we have reached or passed our internal threshold. As an introvert, my threshold for being around people is less than an extravert’s. These are helpful to know so that I can better care for myself as I interact with the world around me. Another area of learning tolerance is when we feel distress. Sometimes the pain can feel so intolerable that we resort to unhelpful ways of coping.
We are all doing our best and we can all do better. We offer ourselves compassion that we are doing the best with what we have and where we are AND that we are responsible for solving problems in our lives (even if we did not create them).
Life isn’t pain free (unfortunately). Pain and discomfort are a part of life (unfortunately). A necessary skill as we move through life is learning to be with something uncomfortable without changing it. In an age of high speed and instant gratification, we struggle with our ability to sit with (tolerate) discomfort.
Distress tolerance teaches:
Ability to tolerate painful emotion
Distraction without avoiding
Pathways to other skills
Action instead of reaction
Managing crisis without making it worse
Tolerating pain and discomfort allows you to learn what you’re truly capable of, to experience empowerment and to see your own agency impact your life.
