Next week at Brookhaven is opposite action week. This is an important stage of the DBT cycle here and a key to successful recovery from depression, anxiety and other forms of emotional suffering.
Emotional breakage can cause women to seek escape. Women with mental health issues may turn to a variety of coping mechanisms that destroy self-esteem and obstruct recovery. Self-injury, addiction and substance abuse can provide an outlet for emotions that women are unable to cope with.
Coping mechanisms are a type of violence toward the self: it perpetuates the lies, negative thoughts and behaviors that worsen mental health issues and prevent recovery. The DBT cycle at Brookhaven Retreat offers women the tools necessary to manage emotions rather than succumb to these coping behaviors.
During Opposite Action Week, women at Brookhaven Retreat challenge their emotions by acting opposite to them. When practiced over time, opposite action begins to forge new pathways of action and emotion, and women learn to cope with their feelings. Rather than suppress emotions, women try new ways of reacting so that negative reactions change into positive actions that support their recovery.
With practice, women are able to develop awareness and control of their reactions and, ultimately, their lives.
