DBT Center of NJ

08/04/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbk8LPElupK/?igsh=MWdtcGw2dzBrd29zdQ==

07/03/2026

07/03/2026

06/23/2026

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06/06/2026

Doing something kind for someone else turns out to be one of the fastest ways to feel better yourself.

Researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Lara Aknin found that people who spent money on others — even small amounts — reported more happiness than those who spent the same amount on themselves. The effect even showed up across income levels.

What's one small act of kindness you could do for someone today?

06/05/2026

Introspection Without Action Is Just Observation

You can spend years analyzing yourself.

You can identify every trigger.
Name every emotion.
Understand exactly why you react the way you do.

And still stay stuck.

Insight is important.
In DBT, we call this building awareness. And awareness alone doesn’t create change. Change happens when awareness is paired with action.

You know you’re avoiding the conversation? Have the conversation.

You know perfectionism is keeping you from starting? Start imperfectly.

You know your anxiety is running the show?
Practice the skill anyway.

You know you’re waiting until you feel ready? Stop waiting.

The goal isn’t to understand yourself forever. The goal is to use what you understand to build a life worth living.

Every day, ask yourself:

“What action am I taking based on what I’ve learned about myself?”

Because insight may open the door.

Behavior change is what walks through it.

Skill Connection: Try the DBT skill of Opposite Action. If your emotions are telling you to avoid, isolate, procrastinate, or stay silent, identify one small action that moves you in the direction of your values instead. Small actions repeated consistently create meaningful change.

05/22/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYo_3FODtp2/?igsh=aHJhaWRucWdvcnRr

05/21/2026

There’s a growing conversation in healthcare around “deprescribing”, the careful review of medications to determine what is necessary, helpful, and evidence-based.

This matters in mental health. Many people with BPD or chronic emotional dysregulation end up on multiple medications at once and long term: one for anxiety, another for sleep, another for mood swings, another for side effects, another for fatigue or weight gain caused by the medications.

Sometimes medications are lifesaving and appropriate.
And sometimes people are being heavily medicated with severe side effects, unable to taper off safely, while the core problems remain untreated:

• emotional vulnerability
• trauma responses
• fear of abandonment
• shame
• impulsive coping
• unstable relationships
• difficulty regulating emotions under stress

DBT was never designed to “medicate away” human suffering. It was designed to build skills:

• emotion regulation
• distress tolerance
• mindfulness
• interpersonal effectiveness
• building a life worth living

Medication can support treatment, especially with co-occurring conditions like major depression, bipolar disorder, and PTSD.

But medication alone cannot teach coping skills, relationship skills, identity development, or emotional resilience.

The bigger question isn’t
"Are medications good or bad?” It’s: "Is this treatment actually helping this person function, grow, and build a meaningful life?”

That conversation deserves nuance, individualized care, and careful clinical judgment, not shame, stigma, or one-size-fits-all approaches.

05/21/2026

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYmZTmBlAW1/?igsh=MTFqZ3ZmYms0bW12bw==

05/15/2026

Shaming "attention seeking" makes things worse.
The term “attention seeking” doesn’t actually tell us much.

We often hear “they just want attention” and our responce is "Great, go test that theory."

However, the solution is not that simple. Families often say attention is never enough.
So yes, the behaviors may create attention. But attention is usually not the end of the story, it’s the beginning.

So instead of stopping at the label or judgment, we have to ask: what’s the function of the behavior? Is the person trying to feel loved, seen, safe, connected, regulated, reassured?

Once we understand the actual need underneath, we can respond to the need instead of just reacting to the behavior.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYW8fkTDn3Z/?igsh=MTIxYmp5NW1jdTcyag==