PLEASE skills in DBT

PLEASE is a DBT emotion regulation skill that reduces your vulnerability to intense emotions by taking care of your physical health. A depleted body makes every emotion harder to manage — PLEASE addresses that baseline.

What PLEASE stands for

• PhysicaL illness — treat illness and take care of your body; don't let physical problems go unaddressed.
• Eating — eat balanced, regular meals; avoid the emotional swings of too much or too little.
• Avoid mood-altering substances — alcohol and non-prescribed drugs make emotions harder to regulate.
• Sleep — get balanced, consistent sleep; exhaustion is fuel for emotion mind.
• Exercise — regular movement steadies mood over time.

How to use PLEASE

PLEASE isn't a crisis skill — it's a daily foundation. Treating it like basic maintenance (the way you'd charge a phone) keeps your emotional baseline steadier, so that when something hard happens, you're starting from a more regulated place. It pairs naturally with the other emotion regulation skills.

Where PLEASE fits

PLEASE is one of the emotion regulation skills, part of the broader DBT skills set. New to DBT? Start with what DBT skills are.

Learn to use it in a live class

Our Introduction to DBT Skills course teaches PLEASE and the full emotion regulation module live over Zoom.

Common questions

What does PLEASE stand for in DBT?

PLEASE stands for treat PhysicaL illness, balanced Eating, Avoid mood-altering substances, balanced Sleep, and Exercise. It’s a DBT emotion regulation skill for reducing your vulnerability to intense emotions by caring for your body.

Why are the PLEASE skills important?

When your body is run down — sick, hungry, sleep-deprived, or under the influence — your emotions are harder to regulate. PLEASE reduces that baseline vulnerability, so the other emotion regulation skills work better.

Is PLEASE a distress tolerance or emotion regulation skill?

PLEASE is an emotion regulation skill. It works over time to lower how vulnerable you are to intense emotions, rather than getting you through an immediate crisis (that’s distress tolerance).