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DBT skills.
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DBT Skills
Five core skills to practice
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BEES
Breathing, eating, exercising, sleeping
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Break Glass
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How are you
right now?
Mood
5
okay
1510
Skills used today
DBT Skills
Cope Ahead
Wise Mind
Opposite Action
TIPP
Radical Acceptance
Nonjudgementally
STOP
Reduced Vulnerability
DEAR MAN
Just Notice
HSWH
Describe Facts
BEES
Breathing
Eating well
Exercised
Good sleep
Emotions today
Joy
Calm
Hope
Gratitude
Proud
Connected
Anger
Anxiety
Sadness
Fear
Shame
Overwhelm
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DBT Skills
Five skills.
Real moments.
Each skill is a tool. Pick the one that fits where you are right now.
Wise Mind
The part of you that already knows
→
TIPP
Change your body, change the moment
→
DEAR MAN
Ask for what you need
→
Coping Ahead
Prepare before the storm hits
→
Radical Acceptance
Stop fighting what is
→
BEES
The basics
matter most.
Breathing, eating, exercising, sleeping. These are the foundation everything else rests on.
Breathing
Square breathing to reset
→
Eating
Nourish with intention
→
Exercising
Just show up, even for five minutes
→
Sleeping
Rest and routine
→
1 / 4
BEES — Breathing
Four sides.
One breath.
Square breathing slows your nervous system down fast. It works whether you're anxious, wired, or just need to reset. Pick your count and follow the guide.
2 / 4
BEES — Breathing
How long is
your square?
Pick what feels right for right now.
3 / 4
BEES — Breathing
Follow the square.
breathe in
4
Round 1 of 4
You just gave your nervous system a break.
That's not nothing. Even one minute of this changes your body chemistry.
1 / 4
BEES — Eating
Your body is doing a lot.
Feed it like it matters.
This isn't about perfect eating. It's about showing up for yourself with food — regularly, with some intention, without judgment.
2 / 4
BEES — Eating
How has eating
been today?
3 / 4
BEES — Eating
One intention.
What's one thing you could do for your body with food today or tomorrow?
Respecting your body starts with the small things.
You noticed. That already counts.
1 / 4
BEES — Exercising
Five minutes counts.
A walk counts.
Movement isn't about performance. It's about showing up for your body in whatever way you can today. One step at a time — literally.
2 / 4
BEES — Exercising
Did you move your body
today?
3 / 4
BEES — Exercising
The plan.
What's one way you could move today — even for five minutes?
Showing up is the whole skill.
Whatever you did or plan to do — it counts.
1 / 5
BEES — Sleeping
Sleep isn't a luxury.
It's infrastructure.
How you sleep affects everything — mood, energy, decisions, body. And routine is what makes sleep work. This exercise helps you reflect on last night and set yourself up for tonight.
2 / 5
BEES — Sleeping
How did you
sleep last night?
3 / 5
BEES — Sleeping
What affected your
sleep last night?
No judgment. Just notice.
4 / 5
BEES — Sleeping
Tonight's
routine.
What's one thing you'll do tonight to set yourself up for better sleep?
Routine is built one night at a time.
You're building it.
1 / 9
Wise Mind
Two voices.
One truth.
Your emotional mind feels everything intensely. It reacts, it protects, it loves hard. Your reasonable mind analyzes, plans, and looks for logic. Both are real. Both matter.
Wise Mind lives where they meet.
It's not about being calm. It's not about having the right answer. It's the part of you that knows something, even when everything feels loud. You've accessed it before. This exercise helps you find it again.
2 / 9
Wise Mind
Where are you
right now?
No wrong answer. Just notice.
3 / 9
Wise Mind
What's
going on?
You don't have to explain everything. Just enough to give yourself context.
Optional — skip this if you're here just to practice.
4 / 9
Wise Mind — Emotion Mind
What is your emotional
mind saying?
This voice is loud, urgent, and completely valid. What does it want you to know?
Let it be messy. This is a safe place to put it down.
5 / 9
Wise Mind — Reasonable Mind
What do
the facts say?
Set feelings aside for a moment. Just look at what is objectively true right now.
What would you tell a friend if they described this situation to you?
6 / 9
Wise Mind
Before we
go deeper.
You just held two very different perspectives. That takes something.
Take one breath with us.
breathe in
7 / 9
Wise Mind
What do you
already know?
Underneath the emotion and underneath the logic, there is something quieter. What is it saying right now?
If nothing comes, that's okay. Sometimes Wise Mind speaks slowly.
8 / 9
Wise Mind
One thing.
What is one small thing Wise Mind would have you do — or not do — right now?
9 / 9
Wise Mind
What you
brought to this.
Your emotional mind said
—
Your reasonable mind said
—
Your Wise Mind said
—
One step
—
You showed up.
That's the whole thing, really. You could have kept spinning. Instead you stopped, you looked, and you listened to yourself.

That matters.
1 / 7
TIPP
When your body
is the emergency.
Your nervous system is flooded. Logic isn't available right now and that's not a character flaw — it's biology. TIPP works by changing your body chemistry fast, before you do or say something you'll regret.
This isn't about calming down. It's about getting back in your own body.
2 / 7
TIPP
How activated are you
right now?
3 / 7
TIPP — Temperature
Cold water
changes everything.
Splash cold water on your face. Hold ice. Dunk your face in a bowl of cold water for 30 seconds if you can. Cold activates your dive reflex and slows your heart rate almost immediately.
Do it now if you can. Come back when you're ready.
4 / 7
TIPP — Intense Exercise
Burn it through
your body.
Run in place. Do jumping jacks. Drop and do push-ups. Sprint around the block. Your body built up energy to fight or flee — give it somewhere to go.
Two minutes. Hard as you can.
5 / 7
TIPP — Paced Breathing
Breathe out longer
than you breathe in.
In for 4. Out for 8. The extended exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system — the one that says you're safe.
breathe in
6 / 7
TIPP — Progressive Relaxation
Release it
muscle by muscle.
Start with your hands. Clench them tight for 5 seconds, then let go completely. Move up your arms, shoulders, jaw, face. Each release tells your body the threat is over.
You didn't act on it.
That's the skill working.

You felt the full force of it and you chose something different. That's not nothing. That's everything.
1 / 9
DEAR MAN
Ask for what you need
without burning it down.
DEAR MAN is a script for hard conversations. It won't make conflict disappear but it gives you a structure to stand in when everything in you wants to either explode or go silent.
2 / 9
DEAR MAN
What kind of
conversation is this?
3 / 9
DEAR MAN — Describe
Just the facts.
What is the situation, stripped of interpretation?
4 / 9
DEAR MAN — Express
How do you
feel about it?
Own it as yours. Not "you make me feel" — "I feel."
5 / 9
DEAR MAN — Assert
What do you
actually want?
Say it clearly. Not hinted at, not buried in apology.
6 / 9
DEAR MAN — Reinforce
Why is this good
for both of you?
What's the positive outcome if they hear you?
7 / 9
DEAR MAN — Mindful + Appear confident
Stay on track.
If they push back, deflect, or attack — come back to your point. You don't have to win the argument. You just have to stay in it.
Shoulders back. Voice steady. You don't have to feel confident to appear it.
8 / 9
DEAR MAN — Negotiate
What can
you live with?
You may not get everything. What's your minimum?
You said the hard thing.
That took courage.

Whether the conversation has happened yet or not — you showed up for yourself.
1 / 7
Coping Ahead
Don't wait for the storm
to make a plan.
Coping Ahead means rehearsing difficult situations before they happen — so when they do, you're not starting from zero. Your brain doesn't know the difference between a vivid imagination and reality. Use that.
2 / 7
Coping Ahead
What's coming that
you're dreading?
A conversation. An event. A trigger you know is coming.
3 / 7
Coping Ahead
What specifically
do you fear?
Get specific. Vague dread is harder to prepare for than a concrete worst case.
4 / 7
Coping Ahead
What do
you already have?
Skills you've used before. People you can call. You are not walking in empty-handed.
5 / 7
Coping Ahead
The plan.
Imagine the scenario. See yourself using your skills. What do you do first when it gets hard?
6 / 7
Coping Ahead
You looked at
the thing.
Instead of away from it. That's harder than it sounds.
Take a breath before you finish.
breathe in
You're more ready than you were.
That's all this had to do.

You have a plan. When the moment comes, you've already been there once.
1 / 7
Radical Acceptance
Not about approving.
About stopping the war.
Radical Acceptance means accepting reality exactly as it is — not because it's okay, not because you agree with it, but because fighting what is already true only adds suffering on top of pain.
You can hate something and still accept that it's real.
2 / 7
Radical Acceptance
What are you refusing
to accept right now?
3 / 7
Radical Acceptance
Say the thing out loud.
Not what should be. What is actually, undeniably happening or has happened.
4 / 7
Radical Acceptance
What does
fighting it cost you?
Every moment spent insisting reality should be different is a moment not spent living in it.
5 / 7
Radical Acceptance
You don't have to be done.
Acceptance doesn't happen once. It happens over and over, sometimes moment to moment. You just have to be willing.
breathe in
6 / 7
Radical Acceptance
Choose it,
even partially.
You don't have to feel at peace. Just turn your mind toward acceptance, one more time.
You turned toward it.
Instead of away.

That's radical acceptance in action. Not a feeling — a choice. And you made it.
Skills guide.
Every skill and acronym in this app, explained plainly.
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is a type of therapy developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan. It was originally designed for people with intense, difficult-to-regulate emotions — and it works by combining acceptance (you are valid as you are) with change (you can also build a different life).
"Dialectical" means holding two opposites at once. The core dialectic: I am doing the best I can, and I need to do better.
The four skill areas
Mindfulness Distress Tolerance Emotion Regulation Interpersonal Effectiveness
Acronyms
TIPP
Distress Tolerance
A crisis survival skill. When your nervous system is flooded and logic is offline, TIPP changes your body chemistry fast — before you act on the emotion.
T
Temperature — cold water on your face activates the mammalian dive reflex, slowing your heart rate almost immediately
I
Intense Exercise — your body built up energy to fight or flee; give it somewhere to go (jumping jacks, sprinting, push-ups)
P
Paced Breathing — breathe out longer than you breathe in (in for 4, out for 8); the extended exhale activates your parasympathetic nervous system
P
Progressive Relaxation — tense each muscle group hard for 5 seconds, then let go completely; start with hands and work up
DEAR MAN
Interpersonal Effectiveness
A structure for hard conversations — asking for what you need, setting a boundary, or saying no — without burning the relationship down.
D
Describe — state the facts of the situation without interpretation or blame
E
Express — share how you feel using "I" statements, not "you make me feel"
A
Assert — ask for what you want clearly; don't hint, don't bury it in apology
R
Reinforce — explain why this outcome is good for both of you
M
Mindful — stay focused on your goal; don't get pulled into side arguments or attacks
A
Appear confident — you don't have to feel confident; stand in the posture of it anyway
N
Negotiate — you may not get everything; know your minimum and be willing to give a little to get it
BEES
Self-Care Foundation
The biological basics that hold everything else up. When these slip, emotional regulation gets harder — not because you're weak, but because your nervous system is running on empty.
B
Breathing — intentional breathwork (like square breathing) as a daily practice, not just in crisis
E
Eating — eating regularly and with some intention; not about perfection, about showing up for your body
E
Exercising — any movement counts; five minutes counts; consistency matters more than intensity
S
Sleeping — prioritizing sleep and building a wind-down routine; sleep is infrastructure, not a luxury
HSWH
Mindfulness
Half-Smile, Willing Hands. A mindfulness skill that uses body posture to shift your emotional state. Your body sends signals to your brain — this works in both directions.
HS
Half-Smile — a soft, gentle upward curve of the lips; not a forced grin, just a slight relaxation of the face; research shows this subtly shifts mood
WH
Willing Hands — open your hands, palms up or relaxed at your sides; the physical posture of openness and acceptance, as opposed to clenched fists
STOP
Mindfulness
A pause skill. Before reacting — especially in conflict or high-emotion moments — STOP creates space between the trigger and your response.
S
Stop — literally freeze; don't act, don't speak yet
T
Take a step back — physically or mentally create distance; take a breath
O
Observe — notice what's happening inside you and around you without immediately reacting
P
Proceed mindfully — now act — with awareness instead of impulse
Skills
Wise Mind
Mindfulness
The balanced state between Emotional Mind (which feels everything intensely and reacts) and Reasonable Mind (which analyzes and plans). Wise Mind is where they meet — a quieter knowing underneath both.
It's not about being calm. It's about accessing what you already know, even when everything feels loud.
Radical Acceptance
Distress Tolerance
Fully accepting reality as it is — not because it's okay, not because you agree with it, but because fighting what's already true only adds suffering on top of pain.
Radical Acceptance is not a feeling — it's a repeated choice. You can hate something and still accept that it's real.
Cope Ahead
Emotion Regulation
Mentally rehearsing a difficult situation before it happens — so when it does, you're not starting from zero. Your brain doesn't fully distinguish between a vivid imagination and an actual experience.
Identify the situation, picture yourself using your skills, make a concrete plan. You've already been there once when it arrives.
Opposite Action
Emotion Regulation
Every emotion comes with an action urge. Fear urges avoidance. Shame urges hiding. Anger urges attack. Opposite Action means intentionally doing the opposite of what the emotion is pushing you toward.
It doesn't suppress the emotion — it changes it at the root by breaking the reinforcement loop.
Nonjudgementally
Mindfulness — How Skill
One of the three "how" skills in DBT mindfulness. It means observing and describing without evaluating — without labelling things as good/bad, right/wrong, should/shouldn't.
Instead of "I'm terrible for thinking that" — just "I noticed a thought." Judgment adds a second layer of suffering on top of the first.
Reduced Vulnerability
Emotion Regulation
Taking care of your body to reduce how vulnerable you are to emotional overwhelm. Sleep deprivation, hunger, illness, and inactivity all lower your threshold for dysregulation — not as a personal failing, but as biology.
BEES is this app's version of the reduced vulnerability practice.
Describe Facts
Mindfulness — What Skill
One of the "what" skills in mindfulness. Putting words on experience using only what is observable — without interpretation, story, or judgment.
Not "they were being dismissive" — but "they didn't respond to my message." Sticking to facts keeps you grounded in what is actually happening.
Just Notice
Mindfulness — What Skill
The Observe skill. Paying attention to what's happening — inside or outside — without getting pulled in, pushed away, or needing to fix anything.
"I notice sadness." Not "I am sad and I need to do something about it right now." The noticing creates space. Space is where choice lives.
This guide is written from lived experience and personal DBT practice. It is not a clinical reference. Skills are described in accessible, plain language rather than clinical terminology. If you're working with a therapist, their guidance takes precedence over anything here.