TIPP
When emotion is too intense to think through, change your body's state first: cold, hard exercise, slow breathing, letting go of tension.
Key takeaways
- In a crisis, when you can't think straight, changing your body is faster than changing your mind.
- Temperature (cold water on your face), Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Paired muscle relaxation. Pick whichever fits where you are.
- TIPP doesn't solve the problem. It brings the intensity down enough that you can think again and use your other skills.
Skip cold water and intense exercise if you have a heart condition, low blood pressure or an eating disorder, or take medicine that affects your heart rate.
Body first
When a seal dives, its heart rate drops sharply, saving oxygen for its minutes underwater. Humans share a version of the same reflex, the dive reflex. Cold water on your face, especially around the eyes and cheeks, while you hold your breath, slows your heart within seconds.
Marsha Linehan saw a use for it. When emotion is so intense that no thinking skill can get through, the body is the faster way in. She built that idea into a set of crisis skills called TIPP.
The four skills
TIPP
- Temperature
Hold your breath and put your face in a bowl of cold water, or hold a cold pack or a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth to your eyes and cheeks, for about 30 seconds. Repeat if you need to.
- Intense exercise
A short, hard burst: run, do jumping jacks, sprint up the stairs. A few minutes is enough to burn off some of the stress energy.
- Paced breathing
Breathe out more slowly than you breathe in, for example in for 4 and out for 6, for a minute or two.
- Paired muscle relaxation
Tense a group of muscles as you breathe in, notice the tension, then let it all go as you breathe out. Work through your body.
Temperature is the fastest, and works best when the feeling is at its peak. Paced breathing and muscle relaxation are quieter and can be done almost anywhere, including on a bus or in a meeting.
Question 1 of 2
You're in a wave of panic and can't think straight. Why might TIPP help?
Once the intensity has dropped a few points, use the space. Ask what set it off and what you need, or reach for another skill, like STOP or opposite action. And if you're using TIPP every day, that's a sign to get more support, not just more ice.
Dev at 1am
It's 1am. Dev has just hung up after a fight with his brother. He's pacing his apartment, sobbing, heart pounding, and every time he tries to think about what to do next his mind just loops: "I've ruined everything." He's healthy and has a freezer with ice in it.
Question 2 of 2
Sources and further reading
- Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Finish the lesson
0 of 2 questions done. Answer the rest to finish.