TIPP — first aid for acute distress
A DBT skill: temperature, movement, breathing, relaxation. Four steps that change physiology and take the edge off.
When it hits so hard you can't cope — the emotion is bigger than you, thoughts tangle, the body jolts — it's useless to talk yourself into "calming down". The frontal lobes are overloaded at that moment; words don't reach them. TIPP from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) takes another route — through the body. Four quick steps change physiology directly: temperature flips the vagus nerve, intense movement burns off adrenaline, paced breathing engages the parasympathetic system, paired relaxation releases tension. It's not a solution to the problem or a way to avoid it — it's a way to regain control so you can think and choose afterwards. TIPP is a "fire button" skill: rehearse it while calm so the body remembers in a crisis.
The timer walks through the steps automatically. You can switch manually and pause.