introduction to Handouts and Worksheets • 3 1 7
various addictions. This handout lists these skills. Distress Tolerance Worksheet 13: 
Skills When the Crisis Is Addiction covers all these skills and can be used instead of 
worksheets for the specific skills mentioned below.
••Distress Tolerance Handout 16a: Common Addictions. This handout defines 
addiction and lists common behaviors that can become addictions when you are 
unable to stop them, despite your best efforts to stop and despite negative conse -
quences.
••Distress Tolerance Handout 17: Dialectical Abstinence. Dialectical absti -
nence is the synthesis of absolute abstinence (total commitment to abstinence) and harm reduction (planning for slips into the addictive behavior so they don’t become relapses).
••Distress Tolerance Handout 17a: Planning for Dialectical Abstinence. This 
handout lists ways to plan for both abstinence and harm reduction. The items under “Plan for Abstinence” are shorthand for the skills described on Distress Tolerance Handouts 18–21. To track your practice of dialectical abstinence, use Distress Toler -
ance Worksheet 14: Planning for Dialectical Abstinence.
••Distress Tolerance Handout 18: Clear Mind. “Clear mind” is the middle 
ground between the extremes of “addict mind” (when you are governed by your addiction) and “clean mind” (when you think your problems are behind you and you don’t need to be careful of a potential relapse). Clear mind is the safest place to 
be, since it involves not engaging in the addictive behavior while remaining vigilant 
of the temptation to do so.