The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety

Basic Distress Tolerance Skills 21

Go get a haircut.

Go get a manicure or pedicure, or both.

Go get a massage.

Wash your or someone else’s car.

Mow the lawn.

Clean your garage.

Wash the laundry.

Do your homework.

Do work that you’ve brought home from your job.

Polish your shoes.

Polish your jewelry.

Clean the bathtub and then take a bath.

Water your plants or work in the garden.

Cook dinner for yourself and some friends.

Pay the bills.

Go to a support meeting, like Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, or

Overeaters Anonymous.

Other ideas:

Here’s an example of using tasks and chores to distract yourself. Mike called his girlfriend
Michelle to go to a movie. Michelle had already made plans with her friends to do something else.
Mike felt incredibly rejected and abandoned. He started yelling at Michelle, who hung up on him.
This made Mike feel worse. He didn’t know what to do. Quickly, he began to feel light-headed and
confused, and his emotions became very angry. But this time, instead of calling Michelle back and
arguing, he opened his wallet and pulled out the distraction plan he had made (which you’ll also
create at the end of this chapter). He had written down “get a haircut,” so he walked a half mile
to his barber. Getting out of his house helped soothe his anger, and when he returned home, he
had cooled down enough to call Michelle back to see if she was busy the next day.