Improving the moment is a specific series of distress tolerance strategies that can be helpful in improving the quality of the present moment, making it easier to survive a crisis without making it worse.
What Is Improving the Moment?
Improving the moment is replacing immediate negative events with more positive ones by making the moment more positive and easier to tolerate. Some strategies involve changing
thoughts of oneself or the situation (creating meaning in the situation, imagining changes in the situation). Some involve changing body responses to events (relaxing). Prayer and focusing on one thing in the moment have to do with acceptance and letting go.
When to Practice Improving the Moment
Improving the moment is particularly useful when you are feeling overwhelmed in a stressful situation that may be long-lasting, or when distracting activities and self-soothing are not working.
How to Improve the Moment
A way to remember these skills is the word IMPROVE: Imagery, Meaning,
Prayer, Relaxing actions, One thing in the moment, Vacation, Encouragement.
Imagery:
Imagine very relaxing scenes.
Imagine a secret room within yourself. Furnish it the way you like. Close and lock the door on anything that can hurt you.
Imagine everything going well.
Make up a calming fantasy world.
Imagine hurtful emotions draining out of you like water out of a pipe.
Remember a happy time and imagine yourself in it again; play out the time in your mind again.
Meaning:
Find purpose or meaning in a painful situation.
Focus on whatever positive aspects of a painful situation you can find.
Repeat these positive aspects in your mind.
Remember, listen to, or read about spiritual values.
Prayer:
Open your heart to a supreme being, God, universe, your zodiac sign, mother earth, Beyonce or your own Wise Mind.
Ask for strength to bear the pain.
Turn things over to your higher being.
Serenity prayer.
Relaxing actions:
Take a hot bath or sit in a hot tub.
Drink warm soothing drink.
Massage your neck and scalp.
Practice yoga or other stretching.
Breathe deeply.
Change your facial expression.
One thing in the moment:
Focus your entire attention on just what you are doing.
Keep yourself in the moment.
Put your mind in the present.
Focus your entire attention on the physical
Listen to sensory awareness music or binary beats
A brief Vacation:
Give yourself a brief vacation.
Get in bed; pull the covers up over your head.
Go to the beach, lake, park, explore.
Get a magazine and read it.
Turn off your phone for a day.
Take a blanket to the park and sit on it for a whole afternoon.
Take a 1-hour breather from hard work.
Take a brief vacation from responsibility.
Self-Encouragement and rethinking the situation:
Hype yourself up
“I will make it out of this.”
“I’m doing the best I can.”
Repeat over and over: “I can stand it.”
“This too shall pass.”
“I will be OK.”
“It won’t last forever.”
The above are suggestions for each category and not an exhaustive list, there are endless things that fit in each category, find what works for you. This is a technique a therapist can help teach you, hold you accountable to and guide you on how to apply it to your life.
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