When your emotions are so extreme that the crisis skills below don't work, or you can't focus enough to get them to work.

Get your intense emtotions down fast by changing your body chemistry.

Temperature - *If you have a heart condition, you DO NOT want to use this skill* Cold water activates your dive reflex which calms your body down. Hold your breath, put your face in a bowl of cold water for 10 seconds. Lift your face, breathe, and repeat this up to three times.

If you don't have a bowl of ice water, press an ice pack or cold beverage to your cheekbones just below your eyes while beinding over and holding your breath.

Intense Exercise - engage in 20 minutes of intense exercise mindfully.

If you are thinking about whatever it was that cued the itense emotion, it will be harder for the emotion to do down.

Paced Breathing - inhale for 4 seconds, and then exhale for 6-8 seconds.

Our heart rate increases when we inhale and slows down when we exhale, so as long as your exhale is longer than your inhale, your heart rate will decrease.

Think of things that fit into each category that would cause a temporary distraction to your crisis.

Activities - things you can do (exercise, read a book, draw, play a video game, etc.)

Contribution - do something nice for someone else

Comparison - compare yourself to another time/another situation (I've gotten through this before, etc.)

Emotions - create different emotions (listen to happy music, watch a funny video, etc.)

Pushing away - push away the thoughts for the short term and returning to them at a different time

Thoughts - fill your head with different thoughts (read motivational quotes, do simple math, count the tiles in the ceiling, etc.)

Sensations - focus on your other senses (pet an animal, hold ice in your hand, take a hot or cold shower, etc.)

Use this when deciding between two courses of action, or trying to resist a pwerful urge to engage in a destructuve behavior

List out all the pros and cons of both acting on an urge and not acting on it. Then, go back and make a decision in wise mind by looking at your lists.

Remember that we don't weight each item with equal importance. Understand whether each item is a short- or long-term consequence.

Long-term consequences are the goals we strive toward (i.e. having fun with your friends for one night is enjoyable in the short term, but not studying for tomorrow's test and failing it will have long-term repercussions).

Make sure to check the validity of each of the pros and cons to make sure they are not emotion-based.

Mindfully use your five senses plus movement to soothe yourself.

Vision - find something pleasant to focus your sights on (your pet playing, the flame of a candle moving, a picture slideshow of happy times, etc.)

Hearing - find something soothing to listen to (music, nature sounds, someone talking, etc.)

*If you listen to music, make sure it generates opposite emotions. If you are sad - listen to happy music. If you are stressed/overwhelmed - listen to calming music.

Smell - focus on smells (light a scented candle, smell essential oils, bake favorite foods, put on scented lotion, etc.)

Taste - *make sure to do this mindfully* taste your favorite food and don't miss any moment of it (see mindfulness activity Mindful Eating)

Touch - focus completely on the sensation of touch (pet an animal or something else soft, mindfully put on lotion, etc.)

Movement - do something that involves motion (dance around, rock in a hammock, go for a walk, etc.)

Make sure to do each of these mindfully

Do something with the crisis to lessen how bad it is.

Imagery - create safe spaces that you can temporarily go to (imagine yourself in a safe space, or the painful emotions draining out of you like water out of a pipe, or the situation getting better, etc.).

*The key to using imagery is to practice during noncrisis situations, first.

Meaning - finding or creating something positive, or a lesson, from the situation; finding the silver lining.

Prayer - ask for strength and wisdom to tolerate the pain of the moment rather than praying the pain to go away. *One does not have to be religious or believe in a higher power to use this skill.

Relaxation - find activities that relax you. Changing how your body respondes to stress and crisis (breathing exercises, other mindfulness activities, etc.)

One thing at a time- focus your attention on one activity (focus on washing the dishes, playing a game, etc.); or, focus on getting through just this one situation right now.

Vacation - plan a brief time out to regroup. This physical break needs to have a planned end date/time and be planned for an effective time. (closing your eyes and putting your head down for 5 minutes, watching funny videos for 10 minutes, etc.).

Encouragement - talking to yourself the way you would talk to someone you care about who is in crisis, or the way you wish someone would talk to you.

Important to balance improving the moment with staying in the present and not overusing this skill.

There are 4 solutions to any problem:

1. Solve the problem (if possible and safe)

2. Change how you feel

3. Accept it

4. Stay miserable (or possibly make things worse)

Nonacceptance or rejecting reality often involves blaming others or something for your situation, and/or judging yourself or others for your reality.

Suffering = pain + nonacceptance

Radical acceptance means you are accepting your reality for what it is (this does not mean you have to agree or like it). This allows you to acknowledge, recognize, and endure.

This method is meant to help you validate your own feelings towards your reality so that you can feel than, let them go, and stop the suffering.

Acceptance turns suffering you can't cope with into pain you can cope with.