When life gets loud, sometimes wellness means simply getting through the moment.
The tools shared here are for general wellness and grounding only. They are not therapy, treatment, or a replacement for professional mental-health care.
If you are struggling, overwhelmed, or unsure how to cope, please reach out to a licensed mental-health professional or crisis support line.
You deserve care, support, and real help….you’re not meant to do life alone (unless you choose too!).
Distress Tolerance comes from DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and offers practical, real-time tools for intense emotions– especially when you:
Can’t fix the situation right away
Feel overwhelmed or panicked
Need to calm your body before you can think clearly
Want to avoid reacting in ways you’ll regret
These skills don’t “solve” the problem.
They help you survive the wave until your mind and body settle.
Perfect for panic, spiraling, or when everything feels “too much.”
T — Temperature: Splash cold water on your face or hold something cool
I — Intense Exercise: 20–60 seconds of fast movement
P — Paced Breathing: In 4 sec, hold 2, out 6–8 sec
P — Paired Relaxation: Deep breath + muscle release
For when your body is panicking before your brain even catches up.
You get an upsetting text and your chest immediately tightens, your face gets hot, your hands shake.
You’re stuck in traffic and feel rage bubbling to the surface.
You’re overwhelmed at work or on your business dashboard and can’t think straight.
Your kid melts down in public and your heart rate spikes instantly.
You walk into a loud, crowded house and your heart starts pounding immediately.
A family member makes a passive-aggressive comment, and you feel your face getting hot.
You’re trying to cook multiple dishes at once and suddenly feel like you’re going to cry.
You’re hosting and everyone needs something at the same time.
Temperature: Grab a cold can from the fridge. Press it to your neck or hold it in your palms.
Intense Exercise: 30 seconds of fast marching in place, squats, or running up the stairs.
Paced Breathing: Inhale 4 seconds → hold 2 → exhale 6–8 seconds.
Paired Relaxation: Each exhale, intentionally drop your shoulders or unclench your jaw.
It short-circuits the fight-or-flight system and gives your brain back its oxygen. Works with biology, not against it.
A simple acronym for moments when emotions are too big to process. For when emotions are too big to sit with right now…..and you need to prevent a spiral.
A — Activities
C — Contribute
C — Comparison (past successes)
E — Emotions (music, humor)
P — Push Away (temporarily)
T — Thoughts (counting, puzzles)
S — Sensations (shower, weighted blanket)
You’re waiting on medical results or financial news and your mind keeps jumping to worst-case scenarios.
Someone’s comment or tone ruins your whole morning.
You’re lonely, overstimulated, or burnt out but still have things you have to do.
You’re reminded of someone who isn’t here this year, and your eyes start to well up.
A political conversation starts at the table and sends your anxiety into overdrive.
You feel judged about your life, body, relationship, or choices.
✔ How ACCEPTS helps in those moments:
Activities: Fold laundry, do dishes, organize a drawer, online grocery order. Step outside to check on the turkey, refill drinks, or pretend to check on the rolls.
Contribute: Send a supportive text, compliment someone, share a helpful post, truly smile at someone close to you. Offer to help serve, clean, or entertain kids.
Comparison: Remind yourself of a past challenge you survived. Remember past holidays that felt hard….and that you still made it through.
Emotions: Watch a funny video, listen to upbeat music. Put on a funny holiday video or lighten the atmosphere with humor.
Push Away: Put the problem in a “mental box” for 20 minutes….deal with it later. Tell yourself, “This is a conversation I don’t have to participate in right now.”
Thoughts: Count backward from 100 by 7s. Alphabetize something. Count the number of orange things in the room, especially if you’re a Tennessee fan!
Sensations: Hot shower. Cold drink. Weighted blanket. Hold a warm mug of cider or hot tea with both hands.
ACCEPTS doesn’t suppress the feeling……it prevents emotional hijacking until you’re regulated enough to think.
Not avoidance…..strategic calming.
A go-to method for when your mind is racing or your body feels disconnected.
5 things you can see
4 things you can feel
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste or imagine tasting
For when you feel detached, overwhelmed, overstimulated, or mentally “checked out.”
Your anxiety is making your surroundings feel unreal.
You’re in a crowded store or event and feel sensory overload starting.
You’re spiraling with intrusive thoughts.
You’re experiencing chronic pain and your brain is slipping into fear mode.
Out loud or silently:
5 things you can see (shadows on the wall, signs, colors)
4 things you can feel (your clothes, chair, shoes)
3 things you can hear (background hum, birds, traffic)
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste (or imagine tasting)
✔ Thanksgiving examples:
Kids screaming, TV blaring, kitchen clattering — and you feel like you’re unraveling.
You’re traveling or staying overnight somewhere unfamiliar and feel anxious or disoriented.
You’re dealing with family tension that makes your body shut down.
Do this silently at the dinner table or in a quiet corner:
5 things you see: decorations, lights, food plating
4 things you feel: fabric of your clothes, chair texture
3 things you hear: background music, quiet talking, clinking utensils
2 things you smell: spices, food scents
1 thing you taste: a sip of water or cranberry sauce
It snaps the brain out of looping thoughts and returns it to the present sensory world, making overwhelm drop 20–40% almost immediately. Brings the nervous system back into the present.
Small comforts help regulate emotions more than people realize.
Warm tea with honey
Soft textures (blanket, hoodie, lotion)
Lavender or eucalyptus
Calming playlists
Candlelight or soft lighting
For when you need comfort, not solutions.
Long day, short fuse, nothing left in the tank.
Feeling lonely even in a full house.
Mind won’t stop racing before bed.
Post-argument emotional comedown.
Make tea and wrap both hands around the mug.
Light a candle with a scent that signals “calm” to your brain.
Take a warm shower and let the water hit your shoulders like weight release.
Put on a hoodie or blanket that feels like safety.
Listen to a playlist that holds the emotion without amplifying it.
You’re grieving someone who isn’t at the table this year.
You feel disconnected from the holiday joy but don’t want to ruin the mood.
Social energy is drained and you need a quiet moment.
Step outside for fresh November air and deep breaths.
Sit with a warm drink and let the heat soothe your hands.
Put on calming music while you plate leftovers or clean dishes.
Wear cozy clothes that help your body feel grounded (even if no one understands why you are wearing PJs to dinner!)
Your nervous system responds to sensory safety cues faster than it responds to thoughts. Tiny rituals, big relief.
This life-changing skill is simple, not easy:
“I don’t have to like this. I’m just acknowledging that this is the moment I’m in.”
Acceptance doesn’t erase pain… it reduces the suffering that comes from resisting reality.
For when you’re stuck fighting something you can’t control.
Traffic, delays, rescheduled appointments, bad customer service.
A conversation didn’t go the way you hoped.
Someone simply will not apologize or take accountability.
A stressful situation isn’t going away today.
“This is the situation right now. Fighting it is making me suffer more.”
“I don’t like this at all! but I accept that this is the moment I’m in.”
“Let me deal with reality as it is, not how I wish it would be.”
A recipe didn’t turn out and you’re frustrated and embarrassed.
Someone you hoped would behave… didn’t.
A conversation left you hurt, disappointed, or overstimulated.
Plans changed last minute.
“This is not the Thanksgiving I pictured….and it’s okay to let go of the perfect version.”
“I don’t like this moment, but fighting it is only making me suffer more.”
“This is the reality of today. I can still choose what I do next.”
It removes the second layer of suffering….the part caused by resisting reality.
Holiday stress is real….overstimulation, family dynamics, cooking deadlines, grief, travel, and expectations all collide. Many in the Jam’n community use a small amount of calming hemp support to help themselves stay grounded enough to use these skills:
Gummy before heading into a crowded house
A tiny edible before cooking marathon
A small dose to settle nerves before socializing
A calming disposable to decompress after guests leave
A slow-release brownie during long family weekends
Your wellness matters–even during the holidays.
You are not too much.
You are not failing.
You are not supposed to handle everything alone.
You don’t have to handle everything alone.
You don’t have to be strong every second of the day.
You deserve support, calm, safety, and breath.
And if today your goal is simply to make it through the moment, that is enough.
If today all you do is use one tool, take one breath, or find one moment of relief….
that is enough and that is progress.
With grounding, breath, and community,
The Jam’n Hemp Co. Family
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