DBT TOOL · WHEN THE BODY FLOODS

TIPP

When the feeling is so big you cannot think straight - this settles your body first, so the rest can follow.

TIPP, defined

TIPP, defined TIPP is four fast ways to bring a flooded body back down when the feeling is too big to think through. Cool your temperature, move hard for a moment, slow your breath, and release your muscles. It works on your body first, so your mind can catch up.

Never a straight line. Some storms are big - you ride them down one breath at a time.

21 DAYS TO REWIRE A THOUGHT.
21 WEEKS TO REWIRE A LIFE.

When you are flooded, you cannot reason your way out, and that is not a failure. Go to your body first. Cool your face, move hard for a minute, slow your out-breath, soften your muscles. Once the body eases, your mind comes back online.
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12345COOLDOWNMOVEHARDSLOWBREATHRELEASESTEPBACKcold waterburn it offout longertense, let gowhich is it?STARTSTEADIER
DBT TOOL · THE MOVES

The moves

Plain and small. Tap any move to open it.

1 · Temperature

Hold something cold to your face, or splash cold water. It tells your body the alarm can switch off.

2 · Intense movement

Move hard for a short burst - stairs, a brisk walk, jumping - to spend the flood of energy.

3 · Paced breathing

Breathe slowly, out longer than in, for a minute or two. The long out-breath is the calming one.

4 · Paired muscle relaxation

Breathe in and tense a muscle, breathe out and let it go soft. Work through your body.

5 · Step back and tell the difference

TIPP is for a true flood, when thinking is offline. Step back and check - if you can still reason, a gentler skill may fit better. Use the prompts in the record to tell it apart.

See one full pass
WHAT FLOODED ME
Everything hit at once and I could not think.
COOL and MOVE
Cold water on my face, then fast stairs.
SLOW BREATH
Long slow out-breaths for a minute.
RELEASE
Tensed and released my shoulders and hands.
DISTRESS
Eased from 9/10 to 5/10.
I did not talk myself down. I cooled my body down. That is the rep.
DBT TOOL · YOUR TURN

Walk it through

Fill it in the moment, or just after. It works on paper too - no buttons needed.

My TIPP
What flooded me
Temperature
Intense movement
Paced breathing
Paired muscle relaxation
Step back and tell the difference
Flooded, or manageable? Step back

TIPP is for a true flood, when thinking is offline. Step back and check - if you can still reason, a gentler skill may fit better.

Distress before/10
Distress after/10
Say it
Your statement builds itself here as you work down the record.
Recover. Rebuild. Renew. · myMove21.com

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When the flood comes, you do not have to be strong enough to stop it alone. You steady the body, get still, and lean on the One who calms the storm.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Psalm 46:10 · NIV
Why it works

Cooling and slowing the body helps the thinking brain regain the wheel from the alarm - read the research.

A general mechanism, not a guarantee. This supports good care; it does not replace it.