The background reading
Not for the middle of a bad moment — for the quiet afternoon afterwards, when you want to understand what happened.
Curiosity about your own mind is a kind thing to give yourself. Take what fits, leave the rest.
Cognitive distortions
Naming the trap is most of the work. Tap one for the swap.
Therapy approaches
What the acronyms actually mean, and what each one tends to be good at.
CBT · Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Notices how thoughts, feelings and behaviour feed each other, and tests the accuracy of the thought.
Often helps with: Distortions, catastrophizing, avoidance.
DBT · Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Skills-based: distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness.
Often helps with: Intense emotions, impulsive reactions, unstable relationships.
ACT · Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Makes room for the feeling instead of fighting it, and acts on values anyway.
Often helps with: Rumination, chronic pain, 'I can't act until I feel better'.
EMDR · Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
Uses bilateral stimulation while revisiting a memory so it stores less charged.
Often helps with: Single-incident trauma, flashbacks, body-level triggers.
IFS · Internal Family Systems
Treats reactions as protective 'parts' with good intentions, and gets curious about them.
Often helps with: Self-criticism, inner conflict, shame.
Somatic therapy · Body-based trauma therapy
Works with sensation and nervous-system states rather than narrative first.
Often helps with: Freeze, numbness, panic that words don't touch.
This is general information, not a recommendation or a substitute for care. A therapist can help you work out which fits you.
Self-compassion
Read one. Out loud, if you can stand it.
Feeling triggered doesn't make me a bad person.
My feelings are real, even if my first interpretation isn't accurate.
I can be responsible for my actions without defining myself by my worst moments.
I can choose a different response next time.
This is a wave. Waves peak and then they fall.
I don't have to earn the right to take a pause.