Laura was in her early thirties, high-functioning, and apparently fine. Then her body sent a different message — dangerously high blood pressure and a warning from her doctor that she was headed for a heart attack. This is what happens when managing and coping aren’t the same thing.

You’ve been breathing wrong your whole life. Not the inhale, not the exhale — the part in between, the tiny gap where nothing happens. Try sitting in it on purpose.

A plain-language DBT skills list covering all four modules — Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.