Marsha M. Linehan, PhD is the developer of an evidence-based treatment call dialectical behavior therapy (or DBT). She’s one of the most influential psychologists and mental health researchers in our world. She also has a lot of wisdom to share.

My hope is that you find some inspiration in the following ideas from Dr. Linehan.

From Asserting Yourself:

Don’t apologize for making requests.

Realize that good relationships depend on what you do.

If you like someone, let them know.

Accepting compliments graciously can help to build your self-respect.

Sometimes we cannot change the environment significantly, but we can perhaps alter the way in which we perceive it.

Values are not static: they evolve, and they involve a great deal of choice.

From Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir:

Change your behavior and you will change your emotions.

An important distinguishing factor of DBT is its emphasis on learning how to tolerate and accept distress.

The goal of DBT is to help people find the path to getting out of hell.

It took me a long time to realize the dialectic inherent in planning a suicide and engaging in self-harm. Both make your feel better, and both can make you feel worse. Both sides are true.

Silence is the language of God. Listen.

From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets (Second Edition):

Respect your emotion.

Ask Wise Mind: Which actions will make it better or worse?

Pain can’t be avoided; it is nature’s way of signaling that something is wrong.

Willingness is listening very carefully to your Wise Mind, and then acting from your Wise Mind.

All people at any given point in time are doing the best they can.

Interested in learning more about DBT? Please check out My Dialectical Life.