Deep Dive into TIPP Skills: First up, Temperature and Intense Exercise

You may recall a blog we posted in August of last year that talked about distress tolerance skills.

As we continue to grow and adapt to life after a global pandemic, we have found that providing a refresher and deeper look into TIPP skills would be beneficial for our clients and community. This month, we are focusing on the temperature and intense exercise skills.

Everyone can be prone to bouts of strong, difficult emotions like anger, sadness, grief, anxiety, shame, and more. When we feel these strong emotions, our nervous system becomes dysregulated, causing various changes including heart palpitations, increased body temperature, rapid thoughts, sweating, muscle tension, shakiness, and sometimes numbness or tingling throughout the body. When in a crisis, our ability to regulate emotions, control impulses, and monitor or evaluate how we are affecting those around us is significantly impaired. TIPP skills are meant to address the physiological symptoms we experience in a crisis and can be a powerful way to regulate those hard-to-handle emotions.

The Temperature Skill:

The temperature skill is perhaps the quickest way to address any big emotion, panic attack, or crisis situation. This exercise is meant to be anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute at a time and should be used when you are feeling between an 8-10 emotional intensity level. Typically, the most effective way to use this skill is to hold your breath and dunk your face into a bowl of ice water or use a soft ice pack on your forehead for about 60 seconds, or as long as you can tolerate. These actions activate your mammalian diving reflex, which is a survival instinct that has evolved over centuries. What is the mammalian diving reflex? Let’s take a closer look at why this is important.

The mammalian diving reflex is an evolutionary adaptation found in humans and other mammals that allows for the animal or person to conserve oxygen when submerged underwater. This reflex can occur as a response to cold water or when an animal is voluntarily diving down. The mammalian diving reflex causes several physiological changes in the animal or human’s body that help conserve oxygen. The reflex causes the heart rate to slow and blood vessels to constrict. This causes blood to be shifted away from the extremities and toward the vital organs like the heart, lungs, and brain, which are more important to keep functioning. As the heart rate slows, more oxygen can be stored in the body, while having less oxygen used for respiration.

The respiratory rate also decreases when the mammalian diving reflex is triggered.

This allows more oxygen to be stored in the lungs and conserved, instead of being wasted with each breath. The face and hands also become slightly paler from the blood vessels constricting, reducing the amount of oxygen needed in those areas.

So, by intentionally triggering this response with an ice dive or using an ice pack on our forehead, we are using evolution as a way to decrease our feelings of panic and crisis. Pretty cool right? For individuals who may need a modification for this skill, perhaps try holding ice cubes, putting a cold towel on your neck, or taking a cold shower.

The Intense Exercise Skill:

The intense exercise skill is one of the longer skills to complete. Typically, intense aerobic exercise should range from 10-20 minutes to be most effective and should be used when you feel between a 6-8 emotional intensity level. Ideally, you will have a form of intense exercise that is immediately accessible such as lifting weights, using an elliptical, playing a sport, or going for a run. One of the essential functions of emotions is to prepare us for action. When emotions are intense, the body is primed for intense activity; intense exercise can release that part of the emotional experience.

Intense exercise has been shown to help regulate our emotional state and reduce symptoms of anxiety, panic, and depression. Our body’s physiological response to intense exercise can cause a cascade of reactions that bring about positive changes in our hormones, neurotransmitters, and brain chemistry. During intense exercise, our bodies release endorphins, which are neurotransmitters responsible for increasing feelings of pleasure while blocking pain signals. Endorphins evoke a sense of bliss and an improved mood. This helps to lift the emotional pall of depression and reduce symptoms of anxiety.

Our body also responds to intense exercise by releasing other hormones known as catecholamines, including adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones increase alertness, arousal, and focus during exercise. They can also help regulate stress. At the same time, these hormones can also reduce the negative impacts of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked with feelings of depression, anxiety, and panic.

The brain is also impacted by intense exercise. As we exercise, it increases activity in the areas of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and decision-making. This helps us better control our thoughts and responses to stressful situations. Additionally, exercise increases the amount of serotonin in the brain providing us with feelings of happiness, accomplishment, and peace.

In summary, intense exercise affects our body systems at impact emotion regulation.

It increases endorphins and catecholamines, which help reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and panic while also increasing serotonin in the brain to help improve our mood. Regular intense exercise can provide long-term emotional regulation benefits and potentially reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. For individuals who may need a modification for this skill, try jumping jacks, dancing, or wall push-ups. Take a look at this video for an easy, at home workout routine that doesn’t require any equipment!