In high-stakes professional environments, anxiety can often feel like an unwelcome companion – showing up when decisions matter most or when expectations are at their highest. Whether you’re in a senior leadership role, managing a demanding caseload, or navigating change, anxiety can undermine confidence, cloud judgment, and erode wellbeing over time.
That’s where a powerful technique from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can help: opposite action.
What is ‘opposite action’?
Opposite action is one of the core emotion regulation skills in DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy). It’s based on the idea that emotions prepare us to act in certain ways. But when our emotional response isn’t helpful or justified by the facts, we can choose to act in the opposite way to what the emotion is urging us to do.
In the case of anxiety, the urge is often to avoid:
- avoid the difficult conversation
- delay the presentation
- back out of a networking event
- stay silent in the meeting
But avoidance reinforces anxiety. It teaches our brain that the feared situation is unsafe – which makes the anxiety grow stronger over time.
How does it help with anxiety?
When you practise opposite action, you deliberately and mindfully do the opposite of what anxiety is telling you to do. If anxiety says, “Avoid this,” you approach it (even just a little). If it says, “Stay quiet,” you speak up. If it says, “Don’t go,” you show up.
This involves acting with courage despite the fear. And finding that you survive – and things may even go surprisingly well. And in doing so, you send your nervous system a powerful new message: “I can handle this.”
Over time, this rewires your response to anxiety-provoking situations and helps build emotional resilience.
An example – the concerning email
Let’s say you’ve received an email that triggered anxiety – perhaps it’s from someone senior, or it’s connected to an issue you feel vulnerable about. The anxious urge might be to ignore it, delay your response, or spend hours drafting and redrafting a reply.
Opposite action here might be:
- Opening the email straight away
- Giving yourself a short time limit to reply
- Sending a clear, professional response without over-editing
This approach not only reduces the long-term anxiety loop but helps preserve your time, energy, and self-trust.
When to use opposite action (and when not to)
Opposite action is most effective when your emotion doesn’t fit the facts, or when acting on it won’t help you in the long term.
It’s not about suppressing or denying your feelings – it’s about pausing, noticing the urge, and choosing to respond in a way that aligns with your values, not your fear.
If your anxiety is based on a genuine threat (e.g. a toxic workplace dynamic or burnout warning signs), the opposite action might be to slow down, set boundaries, or seek support – not push through at all costs.
Opposite action can be a good tactic with other unhelpful emotions like anger. Getting angry after receiving a provocative remark or message might ‘tell’ you to immediately lash out in defence. But taking a moment to notice this and decide to do the opposite – take some time out to reflect – could be help you respond in a more constructive, professional manner.
Some tips:
Start small: You don’t have to confront your biggest fear first. Choose low-stakes situations to practice.
Prepare your brain: Remind yourself, “I’m doing this on purpose to rewire my response.”
Reward the effort: Notice and celebrate the courage, not just the outcome.
Combine with other techniques: Opposite action works well alongside hypnotherapy, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation tools.
A final thought
Anxiety doesn’t have to control your actions and outcomes. With skills like opposite action, particularly when combined with other solutions such as hypnotherapy, you can create new neural pathways – ones that lead to confidence, connection, and clarity.
If you’re interested in exploring hypnotherapy to support your wellbeing at work, or team events to build emotional resilience or confidence I’d be happy to talk. I work with professionals who want to feel calmer and more confident, and teams wanting to explore professional development skills.
Contact me to find out more, or visit my hypnotherapy / corporate events website.In high-stakes professional environments, anxiety can often feel like an unwelcome companion – showing up when decisions matter most or when expectations are at their highest. Whether you’re in a senior leadership role, managing a demanding caseload, or navigating change, anxiety can undermine confidence, cloud judgment, and erode wellbeing over time.
That’s where a powerful technique from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) can help: opposite action.
What is ‘opposite action’?
Opposite action is one of the core emotion regulation skills in DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy). It’s based on the idea that emotions prepare us to act in certain ways. But when our emotional response isn’t helpful or justified by the facts, we can choose to act in the opposite way to what the emotion is urging us to do.
In the case of anxiety, the urge is often to avoid:
- avoid the difficult conversation
- delay the presentation
- back out of a networking event
- stay silent in the meeting
But avoidance reinforces anxiety. It teaches our brain that the feared situation is unsafe – which makes the anxiety grow stronger over time.
How does it help with anxiety?
When you practise opposite action, you deliberately and mindfully do the opposite of what anxiety is telling you to do. If anxiety says, “Avoid this,” you approach it (even just a little). If it says, “Stay quiet,” you speak up. If it says, “Don’t go,” you show up.
This involves acting with courage despite the fear. And finding that you survive – and things may even go surprisingly well. And in doing so, you send your nervous system a powerful new message: “I can handle this.”
Over time, this rewires your response to anxiety-provoking situations and helps build emotional resilience.
An example – the concerning email
Let’s say you’ve received an email that triggered anxiety – perhaps it’s from someone senior, or it’s connected to an issue you feel vulnerable about. The anxious urge might be to ignore it, delay your response, or spend hours drafting and redrafting a reply.
Opposite action here might be:
- Opening the email straight away
- Giving yourself a short time limit to reply
- Sending a clear, professional response without over-editing
This approach not only reduces the long-term anxiety loop but helps preserve your time, energy, and self-trust.
When to use opposite action (and when not to)
Opposite action is most effective when your emotion doesn’t fit the facts, or when acting on it won’t help you in the long term.
It’s not about suppressing or denying your feelings – it’s about pausing, noticing the urge, and choosing to respond in a way that aligns with your values, not your fear.
If your anxiety is based on a genuine threat (e.g. a toxic workplace dynamic or burnout warning signs), the opposite action might be to slow down, set boundaries, or seek support – not push through at all costs.
Opposite action can be a good tactic with other unhelpful emotions like anger. Getting angry after receiving a provocative remark or message might ‘tell’ you to immediately lash out in defence. But taking a moment to notice this and decide to do the opposite – take some time out to reflect – could be help you respond in a more constructive, professional manner.
Some tips:
Start small: You don’t have to confront your biggest fear first. Choose low-stakes situations to practice.
Prepare your brain: Remind yourself, “I’m doing this on purpose to rewire my response.”
Reward the effort: Notice and celebrate the courage, not just the outcome.
Combine with other techniques: Opposite action works well alongside hypnotherapy, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation tools.
A final thought
Anxiety doesn’t have to control your actions and outcomes. With skills like opposite action, particularly when combined with other solutions such as hypnotherapy, you can create new neural pathways – ones that lead to confidence, connection, and clarity.
If you’re interested in exploring hypnotherapy to support your wellbeing at work, or team events to build emotional resilience or confidence I’d be happy to talk. I work with professionals who want to feel calmer and more confident, and teams wanting to explore professional development skills.
Contact me to find out more, or visit my hypnotherapy website.