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The ABC PLEASE skill in DBT is one of the core emotion regulation tools designed to reduce vulnerability to emotional storms and help you stay out of “Emotion Mind.” In DBT language, ABC PLEASE is a set of preventative self-care habits—a kind of emotional immune system—that makes it easier to use other skills (like Opposite Action, TIPP, and Check the Facts) when big feelings show up (Linehan, 2015a; DBT Self Help, n.d.).
This guide walks through what the ABC PLEASE skill is, how each part works, and how to turn it into a daily DBT ABC PLEASE self-care routine.
What Is the ABC PLEASE Skill in DBT?
In Dialectical Behavior Therapy, ABC PLEASE is a mnemonic that gathers a whole cluster of skills aimed at one goal:
Reduce vulnerability to Emotion Mind and increase your capacity to regulate emotions effectively (Linehan, 2015a).
According to the official DBT emotion regulation handouts, ABC PLEASE stands for:
A – Accumulate positive emotions
B – Build mastery
C – Cope ahead of time
PLEASE – take care of your mind by taking care of your body:
P: treat Physical illness
L: balanced Eating
E: Avoid mood-Altering substances
S: balanced Sleep
E: Exercise regularly (Linehan, 2015a; Linehan, 2015b).
Many DBT ABC PLEASE worksheets describe this skill as building a “strong foundation” so that stress, rejection, conflict, or trauma don’t instantly push you into overwhelming anxiety, rage, shame, or hopelessness (Joon, 2023; Broadview Psychology, 2024).
Why ABC PLEASE Matters for Emotion Regulation
DBT assumes that emotion dysregulation is partly biological and partly environmental. When your body is run down—you’re sick, underslept, living on caffeine and sugar, or using substances heavily—your nervous system is already on high alert. In that state, even minor stressors can trigger intense emotional reactions (Fassbinder et al., 2016).
The ABC PLEASE skills are DBT’s way of saying:
You can’t control every emotion,
But you can reduce how vulnerable you are to emotional extremes by:
Building a life worth living (positive experiences, goals, mastery), and
Supporting your brain through basic physical self-care.
Emotion regulation modules that include ABC PLEASE, Opposite Action, and problem solving have been shown to improve emotional reactivity and related symptoms, especially when delivered as part of complete or skills-focused DBT programs (Dixon-Gordon et al., 2015; Valentine et al., 2020).
Breaking Down the ABC PLEASE Acronym
Many ABC PLEASE DBT handouts and printable worksheets divide the skill into two big blocks: ABC (life-building) and PLEASE (body-care).
A - Accumulate Positive Emotions
Goal: Increase the number of pleasant experiences in your day and life so that your emotional baseline lifts over time.
In DBT, this has two parts (Linehan, 2015a; Seaway Valley CHC, 2022):
Short-term:
Do small pleasant activities daily—listening to music you love, texting a friend, reading, hobbies, going outside.
Many ABC PLEASE worksheets include a “pleasant events list” to help you brainstorm.
Long-term:
Identify your values and life priorities (e.g., creativity, connection, learning).
Set goals and break them into small, achievable steps (e.g., finishing a course, building a portfolio, practicing an instrument).
B – Build Mastery
Goal: Do things that help you feel competent, capable, and effective, even in small ways.
DBT material emphasizes that regularly succeeding at manageable tasks can reduce helplessness and hopelessness, which often feed depression and anxiety (Linehan, 2015a; Kaiser Permanente, 2020).
Examples of build mastery tasks:
Finishing a small project (organizing one drawer, not the whole house).
Practicing a skill (coding, drawing, cooking, language learning) for 10–20 minutes.
Completing one difficult-but-doable item on your to-do list each day.
C – Cope Ahead of Time
Goal: Mentally rehearse and prepare for emotionally difficult situations before they happen.
The Cope Ahead part of ABC PLEASE asks you to (Linehan, 2015a; Joon, 2023):
Identify an upcoming challenge (exam, conflict, presentation, holiday, triggering family event).
Imagine the situation in detail.
Visualize using DBT skills (e.g., Wise Mind, DEAR MAN, Opposite Action, paced breathing).
Plan exactly how you’ll respond if your emotions spike.
PLEASE – Take Care of Your Body to Protect Your Mind
The PLEASE skills are sometimes described as DBT’s basic self-care checklist. They’re often taught on a separate PLEASE DBT handout, but they’re part of the ABC PLEASE package (Linehan, 2015a; NAU, n.d.).
P – Treat Physical Illness
Get medical care when needed.
Take prescribed medications as directed.
Monitor chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, diabetes) as part of your emotion regulation plan.
L – Balanced Eating
Aim for regular, balanced meals, not extremes of restriction or bingeing.
Notice how sugar, caffeine, and long gaps between meals affect your mood.
Many “ABC PLEASE emotional regulation and eating” resources use this skill in eating disorder treatment.
E – Avoid Mood-Altering Substances
Reduce or avoid alcohol and nonprescribed drugs that destabilize mood.
DBT is not anti-medication; this refers mainly to substances that impair regulation (Sunrise RTC, 2024).
S – Balanced Sleep
Aim for a consistent sleep schedule, adequate duration, and reasonable sleep hygiene.
Many PLEASE skills worksheets add tips based on sleep research (e.g., reducing screens before bed).
E – Exercise
Move your body regularly in a way that fits your abilities: walking, stretching, dancing, yoga, strength training.
Even brief, low-intensity exercise can support mood and reduce anxiety over time (The OCD & Anxiety Center, 2023).
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
"It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit."
How the ABC PLEASE Skill Reduces Vulnerability
Putting all of this together, ABC PLEASE works like a buffer:
ABC builds a richer, more satisfying life with positive emotions, mastery, and proactive coping.
PLEASE keeps your body and brain in better working order, so every emotional wave doesn’t feel like a tsunami.
DBT authors describe this as reducing vulnerability to Emotion Mind, the state where thoughts and behavior are driven almost entirely by intense feelings (Linehan, 2015a; DBT.tools, n.d.).
Systematic reviews of DBT skills training (including emotion regulation modules that contain ABC PLEASE) show promising effects across diagnoses, especially for emotional dysregulation, self-harm, and mood-related symptoms (Valentine et al., 2020; Harvey et al., 2019).
Turning ABC PLEASE into a Daily Routine
Morning check-in (5 minutes)
Ask: What one small action can I take today to accumulate positive emotions?
Choose one build mastery task you can complete.
Cope Ahead for known triggers
If you know you have a stressful event (exam, meeting, confrontation), spend a few minutes imagining the situation and rehearsing your DBT skills.
PLEASE mini-checklist by midday
Have I taken my meds / cared for physical issues?
Have I eaten something reasonably balanced?
Am I using substances that might crash my mood later?
How was my sleep last night?
Can I add even 5–10 minutes of movement?
Evening reflection
Where did ABC PLEASE help today?
Where did vulnerability show up (e.g., skipped meals, arguing while exhausted, avoided mastery tasks)?
What is one ABC PLEASE change I’ll test tomorrow?
Brief Case Snapshot: ABC PLEASE for Mood Swings
Imagine someone who:
Skips breakfast, lives on coffee, and often stays up past 2 a.m.
Drinks heavily on weekends to “take the edge off.”
Feels empty and hopeless, and spends most off-hours scrolling social media.
They search “Why am I so emotionally reactive?” and land on an ABC PLEASE DBT article or handout.
With a therapist or ABC PLEASE worksheet, they gradually:
Add one small pleasant activity each day (walk outside, call a friend, art, journaling).
Choose one mastery task daily (e.g., studying for 20 minutes, finishing a small project).
Begin sleep and eating experiments—more regular meals, slightly earlier bedtimes.
Reduce alcohol on weeknights and notice how that affects mood swings.
Over a few weeks, they may still feel sadness, anxiety, and anger—but these emotions often become less explosive and shorter-lived, so it’s easier to use other skills like TIPP or Opposite Action when needed (Linehan, 2015a; The OCD & Anxiety Center, 2023).
Integrating ABC PLEASE with Other DBT Skills
The ABC PLEASE skill is sometimes called a “foundational DBT skill” because it supports everything else (The OCD & Anxiety Center, 2023). The OCD & Anxiety Center
It works especially well when combined with:
Mindfulness & Wise Mind: Noticing when you’re in Emotion Mind and when vulnerability is high.
TIPP & crisis survival skills: For moments when emotions are already at 90/100 and you need quick physiological downshifts.
Opposite Action: Once your vulnerability is lower, it becomes much easier to act opposite to fear, shame, or anger.
Interpersonal effectiveness (DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST): With more sleep, better nutrition, and less substance use, these skills are easier to apply.
Conclusion
The ABC PLEASE skill in DBT is less about doing something dramatic in a crisis and more about how you live, day in and day out. By accumulating positive emotions, building mastery, and coping ahead, you intentionally create more moments of satisfaction, competence, and readiness. By pairing that with the PLEASE self-care checklist—treating physical illness, balanced eating, avoiding mood-altering substances, steady sleep, and regular exercise—you give your nervous system the raw materials it needs to stay steadier and less reactive. Over time, this reduces your overall emotional vulnerability and makes intense feelings easier to navigate rather than something that constantly derails your life.
In practice, you don’t have to implement every part of ABC PLEASE perfectly for it to help. Small, consistent changes—one pleasant activity, one mastery task, one better night of sleep, one less drink, a short walk—can gradually shift your emotional baseline. The goal is not to never feel anxious, sad, or angry again; it is to feel less hijacked by those emotions and more able to respond with Wise Mind and other DBT emotion regulation skills like TIPP, Opposite Action, and Check the Facts. When your body and daily life are not constantly pushing you into the red zone, every other DBT skill becomes more accessible.
If you’re using this material clinically or for self-help, you can treat ABC PLEASE as your foundation: build a simple daily routine around it, track small wins, and adjust it to your real circumstances (health, culture, schedule, energy). From there, the rest of your DBT skills toolkit has a solid base to stand on—and you’re actively, deliberately working toward a life that feels more stable, meaningful, and genuinely worth living.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers about the ABC PLEASE Skill in DBT
In DBT, ABC PLEASE is an emotion regulation skill that helps you reduce vulnerability to emotional dysregulation. “ABC” stands for Accumulate positive emotions, Build mastery, and Cope ahead for difficult situations. “PLEASE” is about body-based self-care: treat Physical illness, balanced Eating, avoid mood-Altering substances, balanced Sleep, and Exercise. Together, these habits strengthen your emotional “immune system” so big feelings are less likely to spin out of control (Linehan, 2015).
ABC PLEASE works best as a daily lifestyle pattern, not a one-time crisis tool. Think of it like brushing your teeth: doing it a little bit, most days, protects you over time. That might look like: one small positive activity and one mastery task each day, regular meals, a consistent sleep schedule, and some form of movement most days. The more consistently you practice, the lower your baseline vulnerability tends to be.
ABC PLEASE is not a cure for anxiety or depression, but it can make both much more manageable. Accumulating positive experiences and building mastery aligns with behavioral activation, a well-supported approach for depression, while coping ahead and basic self-care (sleep, exercise, balanced eating, substance reduction) are key components in many anxiety and mood treatments. In DBT research, emotion regulation skills packages that include ABC PLEASE are associated with improvements in emotional reactivity, self-harm, and mood-related symptoms when practiced consistently and/or used as part of a broader DBT program.
ABC PLEASE is a foundation skill, not the whole house. It makes your nervous system more stable so it’s easier to use other tools, but you’ll usually get the best results by combining it with:
Mindfulness & Wise Mind (to notice emotions early),
Crisis skills like TIPP (for very high-intensity states),
Opposite Action (to change emotions that don’t fit the facts), and
Interpersonal effectiveness skills (for communication and boundaries).
In clinical DBT, ABC PLEASE is taught as one part of a larger, structured skills training program rather than a standalone intervention.
It’s completely normal to struggle with ABC PLEASE at first—especially if you’re dealing with low energy, chronic illness, or long-standing habits. Instead of aiming for perfection, try tiny, specific changes:
One pleasant activity for 5–10 minutes,
One small mastery task (e.g., answering a single email),
A slightly earlier bedtime,
A short walk or stretch instead of “full workouts.”
If you miss a day (or a week), that’s data, not proof of failure. Notice what got in the way (fatigue, environment, beliefs like “it won’t matter”), and experiment with even smaller, more realistic steps. If possible, work with a therapist or group familiar with DBT to adapt ABC PLEASE to your health, culture, and life circumstances.
DBT ABC PLEASE Skill Book Recommendations
Here is a collection of the best books on the market related to DBT ABC PLEASE Skill:
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References
- DBT Self Help. (n.d.). Reduce vulnerability with ABC PLEASE. DBTSelfHelp.com.
- Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Chapman, A. L., & Turner, B. J. (2015). A preliminary pilot study comparing dialectical behavior therapy emotion regulation skills with interpersonal effectiveness skills and a control group treatment. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 6(4), 369–388.
- Fassbinder, E., Schramm, E., & colleagues. (2016). Emotion regulation in schema therapy and dialectical behavior therapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1373.
- Harvey, L. J., et al. (2019). Dialectical behaviour therapy for emotion regulation difficulties: A systematic review. Behaviour Change, 36(3), 143–164.
- Joon. (2023, August 29). ABC PLEASE: Skills to regulate your emotions. Joon.com.
- Kaiser Permanente. (2020). Emotion regulation DBT skills. KaiserPermanente.org.
- Linehan, M. M. (2015a). DBT® skills training handouts and worksheets (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Linehan, M. M. (2015b). DBT® skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Resource Group Counseling & Education Center. (2024, February 7). ABC PLEASE skills in DBT. ResourceGrp.org.
- The OCD & Anxiety Center. (2023, November 28). Emotional regulation skill: ABC PLEASE. TheOCDandAnxietyCenter.com.
- Valentine, S. E., Smith, A. M., & Stewart, K. (2020). A review of the empirical evidence for DBT skills training as a stand-alone intervention. In L. A. Dimeff & K. L. Koerner (Eds.), The handbook of dialectical behavior therapy (pp. 325–358). Academic Press.
- Broadview Psychology. (2024). Building resilience through the ABC PLEASE skills in DBT: Managing stress with a strong foundation. BroadviewPsychology.com.
