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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permission 
to photocopy this handout is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details). distress tolerance Handout 5   (Distress Tolerance Worksheets 3, 3a)
pros and c ons
Use pros and cons any time you have to decide between two courses of action.
An urge is a crisis when it is very strong and when acting on the urge will make things worse  in 
the long term.
Make a list of the pros and  cons of acting on your crisis urges. These might be to engage in 
dangerous, addictive, or harmful behaviors, or they might be to give in, give up, or avoid doing 
what is necessary to build a life you want to live.
Make another list of the pros and cons of resisting crisis urges—that is, tolerating the distress and not giving in to the urges.
Use the grid below to evaluate both sets of pros and cons (this type of grid is also used in Distress Tolerance Worksheet 3). Or you can use the type of grid seen in Distress Tolerance Worksheet 3a and in the pros-and-cons worksheets for other modules.
pro S con S
acting on crisis urgespros  of acting on impulsive urges, 
giving in, giving up, or avoiding what needs to be done.
                                        
                    
                    cons of acting on impulsive urges, 
giving in, giving up, or avoiding what 
needs to be done.
                                        
                    
                   
resisting 
crisis 
urgespros  of resisting impulsive urges,