Accepting Distress Worksheet Template (Page 7 of 10) in pdf

Facing Your Feelings

Practicing Acceptance When Distressed

Now that you are getting a good sense of how to be mindful of your emotions generally, another way to

develop the skill of accepting distress is to plan specifically how you will extend this new attitude to dealing

with the distressing emotions you most often struggle with. To help with this, you can devise your own

step-by-step mindfulness plan of what to do when emotional distress arises for you. This is really about

jotting down a few key words, phrases or images that will cue you into being mindful of your negative

emotions at times when it is harder to do.

Below is an example of the types of phrases that might be helpful. Take a look through the example script

and then see if you can draft a script personalised to your needs on the next page. Your personalised

script should be short and to the point, as you don’t want to read through a mountain of stuff when you

are distressed. You can draft your personalised script by either picking out the phrases from the example

scripts that best suit you, or coming up with your own phrases. The aim is to find a few phrases that help

get you in the mode of being the non-judgemental watcher of your distress.

Example Mindfulness of Distress Script

Recognise & Allow Emotion:

Aha! I’m feeling…[angry/sad/scared]. It is OK, I can allow myself to have this feeling…I can make space for

it…I don’t have to be afraid of it or try to get rid of it.

Watch Emotion:

I can just watch this feeling and see what it does, I don’t have to get caught up in it.

Let’s see, where do I notice the emotion in my body?

This is just an emotion, just a feeling to be felt, nothing more and nothing less.

I am not my emotions, I am the watcher of my emotions.

The feeling is just like a…[ocean wave…I don’t need to fight the wave frantically…I can just go with the wave,

letting it bob me up and down, or riding it into shore]

Be Present:

I will turn my attention back to the task I am doing now …noticing what I can feel…hear... see… smell…

taste…

I will turn my attention towards my breath…the breath being my anchor to the present moment…noticing

each in breath and each out breath

Deal with Emotional Comebacks:

I feel the emotion returning…that’s OK, that’s what emotions do, they like to rear their head again. I will

just go back to watching it again…it is just another [ocean wave]…

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Page 7

Module 2: Accepting Distress

nterventions

• Psychotherapy • Research • Training

Accepting Distress Worksheet Template Page 7