How to Use the DBT Improve Skill To Help With Distress

Wait, what? A whole skill that helps me to improve my situation? And make my life that bit better? Yeah, you betcha.

In fact, the Improve The Moment skill in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a group of other skills really. They’re grouped like this to help you easily remember what to do in a difficult or stressful situation when your emotions get the better of you.

Very often, when we’re in tough situations, particularly when things are outside of our control, the best we can do is get through it and not make it worse.

Improve the moment is one of the skills that you can use to help with that and reduce your future suffering.

So today, I’m going to discuss what each part of the acronym means and suggest some ways that you can practice the individual components as well.

So get ready and buckle up. 

What is the Improve the Moment Skill?

Okay, the first thing to consider is what IMPROVE stands for. 

DBT is full of acronyms, and IMPROVE is another acronym. Yay, acronyms! 

• I – improve with IMAGERY
• M – improve with MEANING
• P – improve with PRAYER
• R – improve with RELAXING (hoo boy, I love chilling!)
• O – improve with ONE thing in the moment
• V – improve with a brief VACATION
• E – improve with self-ENCOURAGEMENT and rethinking the situation 

So that’s a seven-in-one exercise. Value much!? CHA-CHING!

Each of these is a set of exercises you can do to improve your situation. It’s one of the dbt skills that helps you tolerate unpleasant emotions and stressful situations.

I recommend you go through them individually until you feel a little better and can tolerate the situation. 

Don’t feel you must strictly adhere to each letter of the skill in sequence; do what you need, whatever meets your situation.

Remember: We use this skill when we’re feeling brutal and intense emotions and are trying to tolerate a distressing situation you’re in.

We use improve the moment to ground ourselves and be in that moment rather than trying to escape it or acting out or behaving in a way we might regret later.

Reasons You Need to Know the IMPROVE THE MOMENT Skill

You need to know it because, like all distress tolerance skills, it forms part of your toolset and can help you tolerate difficult situations. 

Improve is great because the acronym is relatively easy to remember. Even if you don’t know everything, you can use one or two components to help calm you down and tolerate your situation. 

It can help remind you to feel your feelings and emotions rather than trying to escape them constantly.

And yeah, seriously, it’s a cliche, but you can have that sort of zen feeling of peace and acceptance when you start to integrate this skill into your day-to-day. 

I recommend doubling down on understanding and learning this stuff because it will help you in the long run.

So, are you ready? I will line up step-by-step instructions on how to master this skill and go through each part of it bit by bit.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Master the Improve Skill

To master the improve skill, you need to know what each of the letters means and then what exercises you can do. So that’s what I’m going to list below. Let’s do it!

Improve with IMAGERY

For this part of the skill, you’ll close your eyes. If you’re uncomfortable with that or are not in a place where you can, it’s okay to imagine these different things.  

I’m going to list the things that I find most helpful. But remember, this is your imagination, so don’t feel limited to this list. 

• Close your eyes and picture a serene and peaceful scene.
• Envision a private room where you’re alone. It’s filled with beautiful furniture, and you’ve locked the door to keep out anything harmful, imagining that everything is going well.
• Create a soothing fantasy world in your mind, complete with rainbows, unicorns, and a mix of sweet and salty popcorn.
• Visualize water flowing out of a pipe and imagine that the water represents all your painful emotions being drained away.
• Recall when you felt pleased and place yourself back in that time. Visualize what you were doing, who you were with, and why you felt so joyful.

Improve with MEANING

Our lives often involve complex and hurtful situations that aren’t our fault. However, looking past the pain or difficulty can reveal a higher meaning. So, if you’re in a difficult or hopeless situation, think about ways to focus on the important things to you.

Here are some suggestions: 

• Discover purpose or meaning in a difficult situation.
• Identify the silver linings or positive elements in a painful experience.
• Mentally repeat the positive aspects to reinforce them.
• Explore, listen to, or read about spiritual values. Seek to find value in seemingly insignificant things.

Improve with PRAYER

I understand that prayer means different things to different people. That’s okay. 

When you’re praying, you’re praying to someone or something. Let’s call that your higher power or a god of your understanding. 

It’s okay if you don’t believe in God. But equally, if you do, that’s also fine. 

Remember that the purpose of this part of the skill is to unburden yourself by letting someone else handle your problems or your situation. 

Here are some suggestions: 

• Open your heart and mind to a supreme being, the god of your understanding or your inner wisdom.
• Plead and ask earnestly for the strength to endure your pain and challenges.
• Fully release your burdens and entrust them to God, a higher being, or a greater power.

Remember, prayer is a way of acknowledging our connection to something bigger than we are. 

Funnily enough, doing this can quickly and effectively help unburden you from all the weight you carry on your shoulders. I especially enjoy this part of the skill. #positive self talk

Improve with RELAXING Actions

Sean, that picture is WEIRD. Yeah, but I bet you won’t forget it, will you!? Even aliens on Mars like to relax.

This is one of my favourite parts of the skill. It’s where you can chill out or imagine yourself chilling out if you can’t do it immediately. 

Mostly, these are activity-based, even if that means you’re sitting down listening to music or something. 

Here are a few ideas for you to practice. I’m sure you’ve got your go-to. Also, I’d recommend you check out my list of self-soothing activities, as there are some killer ones to remember there. 

• Enjoy a hot bath or relax in a hot tub if one is available. You’re fortunate to have a hot tub!
• Sip a warm beverage.
• Give yourself a neck and scalp massage. If you have a Theragun, use it for effective and quick relief.
• Engage in yoga, Pilates, or other stretching exercises.
• Practice slow, controlled breathing.
• Try half-smiling, using willing hands, or even altering your facial expression.

Remember, practising these relaxing activities can bring you to a nicer place because you’ll feel warm, fuzzy, and better about the situation. 

Equally, they will distract you from how you’re feeling.

Improve with ONE thing in the moment

Usually, it’s not just a painful situation that causes us difficulty. The situation can bring up painful emotions, feelings, and memories that make us feel worse. 

But remember, all you need to do is get through that moment. 

Your feelings are like waves. They have peaks and then crash and fall again. 

This whole skill set is just a way of coping with what’s happening around you. 

Doing one thing in the moment is helpful because it grounds and anchors you to what’s happening around you. 

Effectively, this is another way to practice mindfulness. 

So, with each of these suggestions, remember to bring your mind back to focus on what you’re doing or trying to be mindful of. Try to centre yourself, ground yourself, and keep focus. 

Here are some suggestions: 

• Direct all your attention to the task at hand.
• Stay present in the moment. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back.
• Center your thoughts on the present moment.
• Concentrate fully on the physical sensations around you.
• Listen to a recording that enhances sensory awareness.

Improve with a brief VACATION

There isn’t one person on earth who doesn’t need a break now and again. This part of the skill isn’t about going on full vacation, though. However, that isn’t a bad idea either. Mental health retreat, anyone? 

Just remember that giving yourself this brief break, which is what this skill is, shouldn’t cause further problems and only last a few hours. 

Here are a couple of suggestions for how to take a brief vacation: 

• Go to bed, pull the covers over your head, turn off all the lights, and close the curtains or blinds.
• Spend a half day or even a full day at the beach or in the woods.
• Find your favourite magazine or book and enjoy reading it with a cup of hot chocolate.
• Turn off your phone or avoid checking social media for a day.
• Take a blanket to the park and relax on it for the afternoon. While you’re there, listen to the birds and watch the clouds.
• Take a one-hour break from demanding work. Give yourself a brief vacation from your responsibilities.

Improve with self-ENCOURAGEMENT and rethinking the situation

This is probably a part of this skill that most of us will struggle with. It involves you being your own cheerleader and giving yourself loads of pats on the back. 

Now, if you lack self-esteem and self-confidence and are overly critical of yourself, which you might be, then this will be a bit tough. 

But easy does it, slowly but surely, if you practice this part of the skill you’ll get better at it. 

Also, try not to be too hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes. Forgive yourself. Be nice to yourself. We all need encouragement, even if it comes from ourselves. 

If you want suggestions for things you can repeat to yourself, check out my post on dbt affirmations. 

Here are some suggestions below though: 

• Encourage yourself with affirmations like “You’re the best” or “You can do it!”
• Tell yourself repeatedly, “I will get through this.”
• Remind yourself that you are doing your best.
• Continuously affirm, “I can handle this.”
• Think to yourself, “This will pass.”
• Reassure yourself, “I will be okay. This won’t last forever. Things will improve.”

And there you have it. Remember, take your time going through this. Pick a couple of points that you feel comfortable with. 

Write them down, keep them on your phone, and refer to them when in a difficult situation. 

As always, practice makes perfect. 

Wrapping Up and My Experience

I hope you’ve found this helpful and valuable. 

As I said before, practice makes perfect. 

You can revisit the Improve the Moment skill repeatedly, but it’s best to practise it when you’re not distressed or dealing with difficult emotions. 

Just try one part by itself first.

For instance, try the imagery and then a vacation. 

You’ll feel a soothing, calming effect. Just give it a whirl; you’ll be surprised at the results. 

I recommend you take a look at the Pros and Cons skill or the ACCEPTS skill next.