The Big Feelings Survival Guide

A friendly, full-colour, illustrated workbook that guides readers through exercises based in DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy) principles, with a goal of improving mental health and providing coping mechanisms for tough times. The book is full of creative exercises, like drawing a safe space for yourself and illustrating your feelings, and includes practical skills, like tips on distress tolerance. It comes with background information to understand the exercises and their effectiveness.

Dialectical behaviour therapy, or DBT, is a revolutionary treatment that helps people identify, cope with, and move through emotions. Art therapy uses creativity and techniques like drawing to help a person further explore their feelings and express them. What happens when you link them together? You get The Big Feelings Survival Guide, a unique and powerful workbook designed to yield insight and understanding.

Covering the three classic "parent emotions" – Anger, Fear, Sadness – the exercises are deceptively simple yet richly thought out, and each has a clinical underpinning. Draw a safe space for yourself. Scribble out angry impulses. Explore the mind-body connection by matching emotions with somatic sensations. Embrace confusion by working through a maze with different paths. Act out rebellious urges by painting a messy rainbow. Plus tips, games, and other practical help.

There is no wrong way to use this book. No art skills required. Just work through it with honesty and discover practical skills to help you engage in self-care, cope with life, and take care of your mental health.