Emotion Regulation

What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is rejection sensitive dysphoria. You may have heard of rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), perhaps in the context of ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder). I was going into writing this post thinking that it was a well-established thing, and I …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: The ACT Workbook for Anger

Book Review: The ACT Workbook for Anger

The ACT Workbook for Anger by Robyn D. Walser and Manuela O’Connell uses an acceptance and commitment therapy approach to support readers in better managing anger. Anger is framed as a mix of feelings, physiological sensations, thoughts, and actions, and the authors explain that experiencing it is normal; it’s getting hooked on it that can …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Histrionic Personality Disorder

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is histrionic personality disorder. Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) falls within the DSM-5‘s cluster B of dramatic/emotional/erratic personality disorders. The primary characteristic is a pathological level of need for attention. People with this disorder are often charming and enthusiastic, …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance

Book Review: Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance

Pocket Therapy for Emotional Balance by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley is part of a series of pocket therapy books from New Harbinger Publishers. The book is short, the chapters are bite-sized, and it’s very easy to read. The book is based on dialectical behaviour therapy, with a focus on emotional regulation. …

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What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI/Self-Harm)

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is nonsuicidal self-injury. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a fancy way of saying self-harm behaviour that differentiates it from suicidality. Cutting and burning are the most common methods, but there are a variety of other methods people use, including …

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What Is… the Window of Tolerance

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is the window of tolerance. The window of tolerance was first described by psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel in 1999. It’s used to describe levels of arousal, both psychological and physiological (and no, not sexual). The window represents the …

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Mental Health @ Home Book review: The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Book Review: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley is a self-help workbook that covers the major skills involved in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT is considered the gold standard for treating borderline personality disorder, but its usefulness isn’t limited to people with BPD. DBT is very skills-based, and many …

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Mental Health @ Home book review: Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster

Book Review: Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster

Escaping the Emotional Roller Coaster by Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona draws upon acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) techniques to help “super-feelers” work with their emotions more effectively. What is a super-feeler?  It’s someone who struggles with emotional regulation, meaning they experience intense emotions and strong emotional reactions.  The book focuses on emotional sensitivity; this is …

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Finding Wise Mind in DBT

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) has a lot of useful concepts, but one of my favourites is wise mind. Wise mind is the area of overlap between our emotional mind and our reasonable/rational/logical mind. Emotional mind deals in feelings, while reasonable mind deals in facts and evidence. Neither emotion mind nor reasonable mind is wrong or invalid, …

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