Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
After watching Eddie’s live on DBT, I wanted to share my own perspective as a subscriber and fellow PTSD survivor — and why these skills matter."
3 Sides ---3 Sides 360
8/4/2025
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – More Than Just Therapy
By 3 Sides, 3Sides360
Some days it feels like the sun forgot to come up and you’re dragging yourself through mud just to get moving. You paste on a smile when people ask how you’re doing, but inside? It’s chaos. That’s when it’s worth knowing there’s something out there called Dialectical Behavior Therapy — DBT for short.
I’m not speaking from the outside here — I live with severe PTSD from a fatal accident. It changes the way I move through the world. And like many of you, I found Eddie’s channel because I was looking for connection, real talk, and hope. DBT isn’t magic, but it is one of those tools that can help you steady your footing when everything inside you feels unsteady.
What DBT Is
DBT is a type of talk therapy that comes from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but it’s specially adapted for folks who feel emotions like a tidal wave — intense, sudden, and sometimes overwhelming.
It’s been used successfully with:
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
PTSD (yep, like mine)
Substance use struggles
Depression and anxiety
Eating disorders like binge eating or bulimia
The point of DBT is to help you balance acceptance of who you are right now with change toward where you want to be. Not one or the other — both.
In DBT, you’re not just sitting on a couch talking about your problems forever. There’s a plan, and it usually includes:
Pre-assessment – You and a therapist decide if DBT is the right fit.
Individual therapy – One-on-one sessions to get into the heart of what’s going on.
Group skills training – Think “classroom,” not “group therapy.” It’s learning, practicing, and sharing tools that work.
Phone coaching – Because sometimes the toughest moments happen between appointments.
The main skills taught in DBT are:
Mindfulness – Being present instead of spiraling into past or future stress.
Distress tolerance – Getting through hard moments without self-destructing.
Interpersonal effectiveness – Saying what you need while respecting boundaries (yours and theirs).
Emotion regulation – Understanding your feelings so they don’t run the show.
The Honest Truth
DBT isn’t easy. You’ve got to commit, do the homework, and be ready to push yourself. But if you stick with it, the payoff is huge. You go from reacting to responding. From just surviving, to actually living.
Finding the right therapist is key. Don’t just take the first one who’s available — find the one who fits.
Because here’s the thing: you’re still you. DBT doesn’t erase you or turn you into someone else. It helps you be you, just with more tools in your pocket for when life gets messy.
If you’re curious about whether DBT might help, watch Eddie’s full live discussion. We’re not here to sell you a quick fix. We’re here to talk about real tools that can help you take your life back — one small step at a time.
