The feeling comes on fast and enormous. One moment you are fine, and the next you are flooded, saying things you do not mean, or shutting down completely. Later, when the wave passes, the shame arrives. Why can't I just stay calm. Why does everything hit me so hard.
You are not too much. You feel deeply, and no one ever taught you what to do with that.
What is DBT?
DBT Therapy for When Your Emotions Feel Too Big to Hold
Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is built for exactly this. At its heart is a both-and truth that changes everything. You are doing the best you can, and you can learn to do things differently. Both are true at once. You do not have to shame yourself into changing. You get to build real, concrete skills instead.
Those skills are practical and learnable. Ways to ride out an emotional wave without acting on it. Ways to soothe your nervous system when everything feels like too much. Ways to stay present instead of spiralling into the past or the future. Ways to ask for what you need and hold a boundary without the relationship falling apart. These are not personality traits you were born without. They are teachable, and we build them together, one at a time.
For a lot of the women I work with, especially mothers running on empty, this is the first time anyone has said that big emotions are not a character flaw. They are a signal. And there is a way to work with them that does not leave you drowning or exploding.
When we work together, we go one skill at a time, in a way that fits your real life. You will not be handed a binder and left to figure it out on your own. We practice together, we troubleshoot what gets in the way, and we build on what works. There is no shame here for having big feelings, only a steady place to learn what to do with them. Sessions are online, so you can practice these skills right where you live them, and I see clients across Ontario. Many extended health plans cover therapy with a Registered Social Worker, and I offer direct billing to Telus eHealth and Sun Life.
If your feelings have been running the show, you can learn to steady the ship. If any of this feels like you, you are welcome to book a free consultation. No pressure at all.