Created for Self Care Day at Columbia University School of Social Work

1. Emotional
First Aid Kit
Linda Flores
Career Counselor

2. Myths
● There is a right and wrong way to feel in every situation
● It’s not good or healthy to feel angry
● Happy or emotionally healthy people don’t experience painful emotions
● Feeling sad/bad is weak
● Painful emotions are destructive

3. Basis
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness: the practice of being fully aware and present in this
one moment
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): a time-sensitive, structured,
present-oriented psychotherapy directed toward solving current
problems and teaching clients skills to modify dysfunctional
thinking and behavior.

4. Please note
- This is meant to treat everyday flux of emotions; if you have more
severe distressful symptoms - please seek professional counseling
Otherwise -
- Think of difficult emotions you want to resolve through this workshop
- PARTICIPATE :)

5. Got feelings?

6. Feelings
- Anger
- Annoyance
- Nervousness
- Dread
- Disgust
- Shock
- Despair
- Humiliation
- Offense
- Irritation
- Shame
- Guilt
- Fear
- Rage
- Misery
- Insecurity
- Resentment
- Isolation
- Horror
- Indignant

7. Emotion
FEELINGS
+
THOUGHTS
(images, memories, action urges)
+
BODY REACTIONS
(changes in physical sensations & body language)

8. The Connection
Emotions
BehaviorThoughts

9. How does your body
respond to feelings?

10. Emotions -
Physical Responses
- Tight chest
- Headaches
- Sweaty palms
- Racing heart
- Fatigue
- Lump in throat
- Insomnia
- Short breath
- Tense muscles
- Upset stomach
- Distraction
- Shakiness

11. How Emotions Work
● Thoughts and feelings are NOT facts
● The more you resist it, the stronger it gets
Situation Interpretation Emotion
Situation Interpretation Primary Emotion Secondary Emotion
(aka self-judgments)

12. Roles of Emotions
- Motivation to act
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Prioritization
- Decision making
- Influence others
- Empathy
- Identification of threats

13. Ways of Thinking
Emotional Self
- Reacting only from emotions
Reasoning Self
- Using only logic or facts
Wise Self
- Considering emotions, thoughts & potential consequences

14. Being Effective
- Doing what works
- Doing what moves you closer to your long-term goals
- Getting your needs met

15. How to be Effective
- Know what you want
- Respond to reality (what has actually already happened)
- Focus on the long term

16. Change Acceptance

17. Emotional Self Treatment
1) Name your emotions in the moment

19. Emotional Self Treatment
2) Replace judgments with validation
Fact + Emotion you’re trying to express
Acknowledging
Allowing
Understanding
This does NOT mean you like those emotions, want them to stay, or
stop trying to improve the situation

20. Emotional Self Treatment Summary
3) Change feelings
a. Change feelings by changing PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
b. Change feelings by changing THOUGHTS
c. Change feelings by changing ACTIONS

21. Emotional Self Treatment
a. Change feelings by changing PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
HEALTH
Nutrition | Exercise | Sleep | Medical | Substances
BREATH
MUSCLES

22. Emotional Self Treatment
b. Change feelings by changing THOUGHTS
Find challenging evidence for:
- Exaggerated irrational thinking patterns
- Problematic core beliefs

23. Irrational thinking
patterns
- Black and white thinking
- Jumping to conclusions
- Catastrophizing
- Overgeneralizing
- Unrealistic expectations
- Discounting the positive
- Believing emotions are facts
- Personalization
Problematic core beliefs
I am...
- Worthless
- Unlovable
- Distrustful/paranoid
- Helpless
- Superior
- Self-sacrificing
- Perfectionistic
- Negative

24. Emotional Self Treatment
c. Change feelings by changing ACTIONS
Do the opposite of your natural urge
100%

25. Emotional Self Treatment
4) Acceptance & coping when you CANNOT
change how you feel
a. Get through the moment without making things worse
b. Sit with the emotion

26. Pain
(inevitable)
Suffering
(optional)
Not accepting the pain >>>
more pain

27. Emotional Self Treatment
4) Acceptance & coping when you CANNOT
change how you feel
a. Get through the moment without making things worse
Acceptance
recognize the situation | acknowledge emotions | allow it to be
NOT - ignore the situation | suppress emotions | give up trying to change things
Distraction Inaction Visualization Self-Soothing

28. Emotional Self Treatment
4) Acceptance & coping when you CANNOT
change how you feel
b. Sit with the emotion
- You are not your emotions
- There were times you didn’t feel like this
- Experiencing the emotion provides freedom from avoiding it
- Prove to yourself you can survive it
- No need to worry about confronting it when you already have

29. Emotional Self Treatment

30. Emotional Self Treatment Summary
1. Name the emotion
2. Replace judgments with validation
3. Change feelings
a. Change feelings by changing PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
b. Change feelings by changing THOUGHTS
c. Change feelings by changing ACTIONS
4. Acceptance & coping
a. Get through the emotion without making it worse
b. Sit with the emotion

31. Sources
http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisdbt.cfm
https://www.beckinstitute.org/get-informed/what-is-cognitive-therapy/