Learning Center - DBT Therapy Training

PLEASE MASTER

Don't build a house unless you have a strong foundation. The same goes for your body, mind and soul. Treat yourself like crap and you'll feel that way. Take good care of yourself and you'll have the foundation you need to life a full, happy and healthy life. That may make sense, but how do you actually do it? What does "taking good care of yourself" really mean? In this section we'll explore that.

In this section we'll talk about some very basic rules to take care of yourself and build that strong foundation. Follow these and within two weeks you'll find yourself in an entirely different world.

Using Please Master

DBT offers a list of these same structural guidelines in the form of the acronym PLEASE MASTER:

Treat Physical ILlness

I don't know about you, but when I have a cold, I get very grumpy.  Any ailment, from a hangnail to a terminal illness will affects our mood and sensitivity.  Following your doctor's guidance by taking prescribed medications, and doing what they recommend to cure or manage whatever might ail you improves your mood.

Balance Eating

Certain foods, and the amount of food you eat have a direct connection with your emotions and mood.  Depending on what we eat, our bodies create brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.  We know that three of these (Norepinephrine, Dopamine and Serotonin) affect our mood.  In fact many antidepressants work to change these in our bodies.  Even without medication, though we can take advantage of certain foods to improve and even stabilize our mood.  Here are some general guidelines:

• Excessive calories decrease alertness and concentration — simply eating reduces blood flow to our brain, which makes us feel tired and less alert.  Eating too much can increase this effect.
• Carbohydrates to relax — Diabetics know that foods like pasta, bread, rice, cereal and fruit, when eaten in moderation can produce insulin in our bodies.  This can help us feel calm and relaxed and even help us sleep.  Be careful, though, too much carbohydrates will cause us to gain weight.
• Protein for energy — Foods like fish, meat, poultry, tofu, beans, cheese and milk increase our energy levels and alertness.  Remember, to balance this against excess calories which will have a negative effect.   Eggs and Liver are good sources of B complex vitamins, which also improves memory and focus.
• Caffeine or folic acid for improved mood — having no more than two cups of coffee (or other caffeinated beverage), or food with folic acid (e.g., strawberries, orange juice, lentils, spinach, asparagus, broccoli) can elevate mood and help those with mild depressions.
• Lacking Selenium can cause depression — Selenium is a mineral that our bodies require in very small (trace) amounts, still we need them.  The best sources of Selenium are Dried Brazil nuts, light Tuna fish (canned in oil), cooked Beef, Spaghetti, Cod, and Turkey).

Avoid Mood-Altering Drugs

While many of us use drugs and/or alcohol to feel better, these substances have an adverse effect on our minds and bodies.  Aside from causing various physical ailments and decreasing how our organs function, it can negatively affect our brain chemistry making our moods more difficult to manage.

Balance Sleep

Sleep is a biggie.  About 50% of all adults have had, or still have problems sleeping.  A good night sleep means getting enough (6 - 9 hours for healthy adults), high quality sleep (staying asleep the whole time), regular times (getting to bed and waking up about the same time each day).  Dr. Richard Bootzin developed the stimulus-control treatment for insomnia.  He recommends conditioning yourself to associate your bed with rest.  Avoid other activities such as study, reading, television, eating in your bed; teach yourself the purpose of your bed is to sleep.  Don't force yourself to sleep, allow yourself to sleep.  Maintain consistent bedtimes and wake up times.

Get Exercise

Rigorus exercise can stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain, and act as an antidepressent.  With regular rigorous exercise (20 - 30 minutes each day), our bodies process nutrition better giving us better access to necessary vitamins and minerals, we use calories more efficiently keeping our weight down, and improves the quality of our sleep.

Build MASTERy

Who says ego is a bad thing?  When we do things we're good at, we feel better about ourselves.  Many of us, unfortunately, spend much of our time doing things we need to do, rather than those things we have mastered or feel good doing.  Personally, I love to write, cook, learn and debate issues.  The more of this I do, the higher my self-esteem goes and the more satisfied I feel.  If you don't feel you're particularly good at anything, pick something and learn to master it.  Even the process of improving through practice can help build self-esteem.  Regardless of whether you're a master at something, or developing some skills, do at least one of those things each day to remind yourself how great you really are.

Review

During this section, we discussed how structure in our lives can improve our overall mood, and decrease our susceptibility to emotion mind.  Specifically:

• Treat Physical Illness
• Balance Eating
• Avoid mood-altering substances
• Balance sleep
• Get Rigorous Exercise
• Build or practice MASTERy

Exercises

Grab your notebook and list what you can do to improve yourself in each of these areas.  Under physical illness, list any treatments your doctor has prescribed (medication, nutrition, exercise, behavior), and identify where you can improve.  Go down each of the PLEASE MASTER list and identify what you can do to improve.  Put a check next to each of the "low hanging fruit" items (those thing you can do right away).

Assignments

Do the things you've identified with a check as "low hanging fruit" and do them immediately.  Continue doing them.  Every two or three days, go back to the list and select one more (non low hanging fruit) item and work on building that into your daily routine.  You will begin to feel like you're in a better mood very soon.  Jot down in that notebook how these things seem to be affecting your mood as a personal pat on the back.  You may want to post a message at the bottom of this section letting others on the site know what you're trying to do.  If you see other's who've posted things, try to lend your support and encouragement to them.

Other Resources

• Wiki: Richard Bootzin
• Wiki: Neurotransmitters
• Wiki: Insomnia
• How food affects our mood
• Mood Food Relationships
• Exercise and Mood: not the usual rap
• How Does Exercise Affect our Mood

When you're ready to move on go to: Section 15 - Increasing Positive Experiences.

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