*Update 06.09.20: Most of the videos have now been published on my channel.
*Update 01.07.20: I am so sorry, but I have had to postpone this video series as I have been struggling a lot (haven't struggled this much for around two years!). I am focusing on trying to feel better and regain my balance. I hope to do these videos at a later date once I feel better. I am so sorry to those of you who were looking forward to it. I am okay and starting to feel a tiny bit better already.*
After years of doing therapies that were not fully effective in helping me manage intense emotions and episodes of severe distress, DBT finally offered me some solutions to my problems.
Mental health care is an incredibly unfair postcode lottery. Moreover, people with BPD tend to have a much harder time accessing care than people with other mental health conditions for a number of reasons that I will save for another post.
-scroll down for schedule of daily DBT videos-
I wasn't able to access DBT until about four years after I was first diagnosed with BPD. As soon as I started on twice-weekly eighteen month programme, it felt 'right' for my needs. It was like coming ashore after being shipwrecked for so many years.
I have shared quite a bit about DBT and how it has helped me on this blog, my YouTube channel and my social media. However, wanted to share more about DBT skills with you as I know just how useful and reassuring they can be. They have certainly helped me avoid many a crisis over the last two years. So, this July I will be doing 14 videos about 14 different DBT skills. For two weeks, I will post a new video at 11am BST on my YouTube Channel.
Just to let you know, these videos aren't any substitute for professional, intense DBT led by a specialist. I won't be following the manual down to every last letter. Instead, my videos are here to give a lived-experience perceptive. I am not afraid to tailor skills to suit my own needs & life. These videos will give insight into how I do that. I work hard at my DBT skills, but I also make them work hard for me.
Daily DBT Schedule for July 2020
1st July - observe and describe
2nd July - non-judgmental stance
3rd July - identifying emotions
4th July - opposite action to emotion
5th July - self-validation
6th July - turning the mind
7th July - radical acceptance
8th July - cope ahead (worst case scenario)
9th July - improve the moment
10th July - 'PLEASE' skills
11th July - 'FAST' skill
12th July - 'DEAR MAN' skill
13th July - How do I know which skill to use at a given moment?
14th - Summary: Q&A video
I thought these videos could be helpful for several groups of people:
People who haven't been able to access DBT so far and are trying to teach themselves (as I once did).
People who have finished DBT who want a 'refresher' or who miss hearing learning from their peers during the DBT group sessions.
Anyone curious to hear a lived-experience perspective (I am not a therapist!). As always, I will share my own tips and my own challenges.
DBT is famously hard work and incredibly demanding. As you will know if you have your own experience, there is a lot of content to learn and a lot to practice.
How I use the 'STOP' skill >
If you want to learn more about DBT, what it is and how it might help you, before July 1st, check out the the DBT introductory video I made about my experiences. I also have a couple of book review videos on my channel about two of my favourite DBT books. Also, I highly recommend having a look at the wonderful Debbie Corso's DBT videos. She has been an inspiration and source of comfort to me over the years.
dbt Introductory vide >
Hope you will join me for a new video each day starting July 1st! Let me know if there is anything you want to see covered that's not in the schedule and I will do my best to address it!
If you like what I do, please consider helping towards my running costs by supporting me on Ko-Fi. Your help is much appreciated.