skills (observe the breath, self soothe, distract) and mindfulness/wise mind skills (pros/cons, wise mind shift). But what if your ramp-up on a given occasion is only a few moments and you realize you are about to engage in a behavior that you are trying to stop? Urge Surf! To Urge Surf it is important to: with a few deep breaths and a conscious willingness to reduce the urge and let go of the behavior as a solution for that moment’s pain. If possible, remove yourself from the situation if you can (e.g. walk out of the room where the food, substance or self harm implement is). Whether or not you can leave the area of temptation, the next step is to Try to relax the body and practice breathing or calming techniques while staying mindful and present-focused. Avoid getting into debates with yourself about whether you will or won’t do the behavior, just stay present and breathe. Sit down or lie down if you can. As soon as you feel the urge lessening and you feel a bit calmer, now is the time to return to distress tolerance skills (self-soothing, improve the moment, distract) and if you haven’t yet put distance between yourself and the tempting object, do so now! Later, when you are much calmer and have had time to self care and self soothe and get back to your wise mind, you will need to look back on the triggering situation to decide if any further wise mind action is needed to avoid being in that same dilemma again. URGE SURFING HOMEWORK SHEET Urge Surfing involves mindful observing of the urge to enact maladaptive behaviors. Urge surfing involves stepping back from your experience and using mindfulness skills, including non-judgmental observing and describing of urges or cravings. Urge Surfing involves awareness without mindlessly giving in to the urge. Urge Surfing notices the urge without pushing it away or holding on to it. One simply notices and describes moment-to-moment, the
skills (observe the breath, self soothe, distract) and mindfulness/wise mind skills (pros/cons, wise mind shift). But what if your ramp-up on a given occasion is only a few moments and you realize you are about to engage in a behavior that you are trying to stop? Urge Surf! To Urge Surf it is important to: with a few deep breaths and a conscious willingness to reduce the urge and let go of the behavior as a solution for that moment’s pain. If possible, remove yourself from the situation if you can (e.g. walk out of the room where the food, substance or self harm implement is). Whether or not you can leave the area of temptation, the next step is to Try to relax the body and practice breathing or calming techniques while staying mindful and present-focused. Avoid getting into debates with yourself about whether you will or won’t do the behavior, just stay present and breathe. Sit down or lie down if you can. As soon as you feel the urge lessening and you feel a bit calmer, now is the time to return to distress tolerance skills (self-soothing, improve the moment, distract) and if you haven’t yet put distance between yourself and the tempting object, do so now! Later, when you are much calmer and have had time to self care and self soothe and get back to your wise mind, you will need to look back on the triggering situation to decide if any further wise mind action is needed to avoid being in that same dilemma again. URGE SURFING HOMEWORK SHEET Urge Surfing involves mindful observing of the urge to enact maladaptive behaviors. Urge surfing involves stepping back from your experience and using mindfulness skills, including non-judgmental observing and describing of urges or cravings. Urge Surfing involves awareness without mindlessly giving in to the urge. Urge Surfing notices the urge without pushing it away or holding on to it. One simply notices and describes moment-to-moment, the