Opposite Action
When you've tried half-measures and they aren't working. It’s one of the DBT emotion regulation skills, and the skills picker can route a client here in the moment.
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Open the skills pickerWhat is Opposite Action?
Opposite Action is a DBT emotion regulation skill. When an emotion doesn’t fit the facts — or when acting on it won’t help — you act opposite to its action urge, fully and with commitment. It rests on a core principle: emotions drive behavior, and changing the behavior changes the emotion over time.
It always follows Check the Facts. You first decide whether the emotion is justified; opposite action is the move when it isn’t, or when following the urge would make things worse.
Why Opposite Action works
Emotions evolved to drive action urges — fear pushes you to flee, shame to hide, anger to attack. When the emotion fits the facts, following the urge is adaptive. When it doesn’t, the urge is exactly what keeps the emotion alive: avoidance sustains fear, hiding sustains shame. Acting opposite — fully, and repeatedly — supplies corrective learning. The feared outcome doesn’t arrive, and the emotion recalibrates to the new evidence. It’s the same mechanism that makes exposure work, which is part of why opposite action is one of DBT’s most powerful emotion-change tools.
When to reach for Opposite Action
When you've tried half-measures and they aren't working.
A common misconception
Opposite action is not suppressing or faking your feelings, and it’s not for every emotion. You only use it when an emotion is unjustified or unhelpful — if fear fits a real danger, you don’t act opposite to it. And it has to be done all the way: half-hearted opposite action keeps the emotion alive. Acting opposite while still signaling the original emotion doesn’t work.
How to practice Opposite Action
- Half-opposite doesn't work. The brain reads it as confirmation of the original urge.
- Identify the full reverse: not "be polite to them" — "warmly include them."
- Commit. Tone, body language, words, all aligned with the opposite.
- Hold it past your discomfort. The feeling shifts when the action is total.
Opposite Action in practice
A client feels shame and the urge to hide after a small social slip — but no one actually rejected them, so the shame doesn’t fit the facts. Opposite action is to re-engage: make eye contact, stay in the room, keep talking — fully, not reluctantly. Repeated over time, the shame loses its grip.
Another example
Depression’s signature urge is to withdraw — cancel the plans, stay in bed — and the withdrawal deepens the low mood. Opposite action is to get up, get moving, and reach out to someone, against that pull. Done consistently, it lifts mood over time; this is the same principle as behavioral activation, approached through the emotion-regulation lens.
How therapists use Opposite Action in session
The clinical sequence always starts with Check the Facts — using opposite action on a justified emotion is invalidating and can do harm, so confirming the emotion doesn’t fit comes first. From there the therapist helps name the specific action urge and its specific opposite, and stresses “all the way,” including posture, tone, and facial expression. It’s assigned as graded between-session practice and reviewed on the diary card. Watch for it being recruited to suppress valid feelings; it is for unjustified or ineffective emotions only.
Related skills
Tracking Opposite Action on a diary card
Whether a client used Opposite Action — and whether it helped — is exactly what a DBT diary card captures. Recording skill use day by day is how you see, in session, whether emotion regulation skills are generalizing.
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Build a diary cardAll DBT skillsFAQ
What is Opposite Action in DBT?
Opposite Action is a DBT emotion regulation skill. When you've tried half-measures and they aren't working.
When should I use Opposite Action?
Reach for opposite action when you've tried half-measures and they aren't working.
What’s the difference between opposite action and avoidance?
Avoidance follows the emotion’s urge to escape; opposite action does the reverse — you approach what the emotion tells you to flee, when the emotion isn’t justified. Avoidance shrinks your life; opposite action expands it.
Do I use opposite action for every emotion?
No. First check whether the emotion fits the facts. If it does and the situation is solvable, problem-solve instead. Opposite action is for emotions that don’t fit the facts or aren’t effective to act on.
In crisis? Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US) — free, confidential, 24/7. This page is educational and is not therapy, diagnosis, or a substitute for professional care.