As millions of people across the nation sit isolated in quarantine, watching news reports about COVID-19 deaths and losing jobs at an unprecedented rate, it’s safe to say that we have all seen an uptick in life stressors over the past several weeks—and they don’t seem to be going away any time soon.

 

Times like these are especially challenging for people who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, especially when faced with isolation from friends and neighbors, financial concerns, school closures, and other stressors. When people have a history of using drugs or alcohol to handle their stressors, it’s important for them to learn other ways to cope.

 

A person who turns to drugs or alcohol during difficult times typically does so to soothe, alter, or ignore volatile emotions. When these emotions become intense and overwhelming, people may look for a way to quiet them—a process that often leads to addictive behavior.

 

You don’t have to rely on drugs or alcohol to get through trying times. Research shows that dialectical behavior therapy has been used successfully to treat people with substance use disorders (or SUDs) and teach them skills to help manage whatever life throws their way.

 

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

Dialectical behavior therapy (or DBT) is a branch of psychotherapy that was originally developed in the 1980s to treat borderline personality disorder. People with borderline personality disorder experience extremely intense negative emotions that can be difficult to manage and cause a great deal of conflict in their relationships with family, friends, and significant others. The same can be true for people with SUDs, whose mood swings and intense emotions may have a negative effect on relationships.

 

DBT is known to help people who want to manage their emotions, tolerate stress, and communicate more effectively with others. Over time, research has shown that DBT has been used to successfully treat people not only with SUDs, but with depression, bulimia, binge-eating, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder as well. 

 

How Does DBT Work?

DBT treatment for people with SUDs typically consists of individual therapy sessions and DBT skills groups. Both of these settings help the person learn how to apply DBT skills to their addiction and address any obstacles that arise during treatment and beyond. DBT skills groups typically share their experiences and encourage one another—much like a traditional SUD support group.

 

DBT teaches therapeutic skills in four key areas:

 

• Mindfulness – Improving a person’s ability to accept and be present in the current moment
• Distress tolerance – Increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it
• Emotion regulation – Managing the intense emotions that cause problems in a person’s life
• Interpersonal effectiveness – Teaching a person to communicate with others in a way that strengthens relationships instead of harming them

 

These skills are so effective, that other styles of therapy have borrowed them and currently use them in a number of settings.

 

Finding Hope

For people who come from environments that make them believe their feelings are “wrong” or “bad” and they turn to drugs or alcohol to cope, DBT can be a lifeline. DBT conveys a level of optimism that is not usually found in other therapies. 

 

DBT follows the premise that:

 

• People are doing the best they can in their current situation.
• They want their situation to improve.
• They are capable of learning new behaviors to change their lives.
• The problem may not be their fault, but they have a duty to resolve it.

 

DBT includes four main goals of treatment that are divided into stages. Each of these stages is valuable in treating addiction and other issues.

 

Stage #1: From “out of control” to “in control” – This stage focuses on reducing reckless behavior (such as drug and alcohol abuse) while building skills that include improving relationships, understanding emotions, and managing stress.

 

Stage #2: From “emotionally unavailable” to “emotionally engaged” – When emotions become too overwhelming to manage, some people simply shut down. This stage teaches how to fully and accurately experience feelings without relying on avoidance or escape by using drugs or alcohol.

 

Stage #3: From “chaos” to “common” – Rather than focusing on extreme emotions, this stage helps people learn to concentrate on the problems that most of us experience (relationship troubles, work issues, etc.) 

 

Stage 4: From “disconnected” to “connected” – While the previous stages focus on reducing unwanted symptoms, this final stage helps people find happiness in their future. A main tenet of DBT is that finding a sense of connection to the world will help reach this goal.

 

DBT and Addiction

The ultimate goal of DBT is to help you build a life worth living, and it can be very effective if you are struggling with substance abuse and haven’t responded to other forms of therapy. Life will always be difficult, even when this pandemic is over. DBT can help you learn the skills you need to manage your emotions, have meaningful relationships, and most importantly, stay sober.

 

The Kimberly Center has one fundamental purpose—to restore people to healthier, happier, and more productive lives that are free from substance dependence and abuse. The Kimberly Center believes that successful recovery encompasses improvements in self-esteem, interpersonal relationships, positive family interaction, vocational productivity, the establishment and attainment of realistic life goals, and healthy lifestyle adjustments. DBT is just one of the many services we offer. Call 855-452-3683 now to learn more.