When you have difficulties managing your emotions, it can feel like you’re losing control of your whole life. Anger, hurt, grief, worry, and other intense feelings can be overwhelming, and how you react to these emotions can impact your ability to maintain relationships, succeed at work, or even think straight! If you find it difficult to understand, express, and process intense emotions—and most of us do—this book is for you.

Calming the Emotional Storm is your guide to coping with difficult emotions calmly and responsibly by using powerful skills from dialectical behavior therapy. This method combines cognitive behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices to change the way you respond to stressful situations. By practicing these skills, you can stop needless emotional suffering and develop the inner resilience that will help you weather any emotional storm.

This book will teach you how to:

• Establish a balanced life for an everyday sense of well-being
• Let go of unwanted worries and fears
• Become better at accepting yourself and others
• Work through a crisis without letting emotions take over

Sheri Van Dijk's profile page

Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, is a mental health therapist in private practice and at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, ON, Canada. She specializes in the treatment of bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders using dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and mindfulness practice. She is author of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder and Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens, and coauthor of The Bipolar Workbook for Teens. You can visit her online at www.sherivandijk.com.

"In my twenty-two years in the field, I have not encountered a more comprehensive guide to managing one’s emotions. Sheri Van Dijk has taken complex psychotherapeutic processes and broken them down in an easy-to-read, accessible format. If you have ever been paralyzed with intense emotions, this is a must-read. I will be recommending this book to my patients."
—Jody Joseph Levac, MSW, RSW, PhD, director of mental health at Southlake Regional Health Centre

"Calming the Emotional Storm is simple, comprehensive, effective, and doable. This encouraging book inspires hope without minimizing that it can take a lot of hard work to make the changes necessary to start living an emotional healthy and balanced life. I will definitely recommend this book to my clients. The exercises in the book support understanding by helping readers stabilize emotional reactions while exploring ways to make positive changes."
—Melanie Williams, registered social worker at Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and certified trauma specialist

"In a world where emotions are at the root of much pain and suffering, Sheri Van Dijk has written a skillful guide to help us acknowledge, experience, and, most importantly, bear the emotional landscape of our lives. The combination of concise language, clear explanations, accessible exercises and insightful case studies make this an exceptional tool for individuals, families, and clinicians alike."
—Glenys Smith Elliott, MEd, mental health case manager at York Support Services Network in Ontario, Canada

"Many can relate to experiencing the ‘emotional storm’ within. In this book, Van Dijk teaches fundamental DBT skills for helping manage these distressing emotions in a way that is accessible to all readers. The exercises and tips offered make this resource practical and easy to use. It provides readers with the skills they need to feel more in control of their emotions and make their lives more manageable."
—Diane Petrofski, MSW, RSW, Family Health Team

"Sheri Van Dijk’s new book is a well laid-out, user-friendly manual that can assist people in learning new skills to live a calmer, more effective life. I would recommend it to anyone who feels intense emotions."
—Cheri Faris, BMgt, MSW, RSW, clinical social worker at the Canadian Mental Health Association

"This book provides a crystal clear, concise, and lively introduction to DBT techniques for the general reader. It should be helpful for anyone who is interested in growing emotionally and learning how to have a healthier life."
—Paula Fuchs, PsyD, assistant clinical professor of psychology in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

"Calming the Emotional Storm is a reader-friendly manual that will teach readers how to manage difficult emotions. Each chapter prepares readers for helpful exercises on noticing and validating emotions. The dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills taught here are effective tools for improving self-esteem and work and personal relationships that will undoubtedly help readers gain a healthy balance in their lives, even in moments of crisis or stress. Calming the Emotional Storm will be a valuable asset to my clients and help them improve their overall well-being."
—Barbara L. Anschuetz, EdD, CTS, certified trauma specialist and traumatologist