{ "kind": "node-detail-initial-slice", "version": "0.2.78", "generatedAt": "2026-10-02T19:25:44.323Z", "locale": "en", "route": "/en/practice/components/stop-step-stop/", "nodeId": "stop-step-stop", "nodeType": "component", "node": { "id": "stop-step-stop", "type": "component", "title": "STOP: Stop", "searchAliases": [ "STOP: Stop", "STOP: Stopp" ], "description": "Crisis survival · STOP components · Impulse interruption step", "priorityRank": 1, "priorityLabel": "Urgent first", "priorityDescription": "This node sits close to acute crisis and should be read more as an early step than as later deepening.", "cardPreview": "If any automatic further reaction must first be stopped.", "purpose": "Sharpen the very first interruption step so that automatic further reactions do not take over the entire situation unnoticed.", "applicationContext": "When escalation, impulse or excessive demands occur so quickly that the first moment of pause is crucial.", "longDescription": { "text": "The STOP skill is a four-step sequence for interrupting impulsive behavior before it makes a crisis worse: Stop, Take a step back, Observe, and Proceed mindfully. The first step — freezing completely — creates a momentary gap between the triggering event and the response, preventing emotion mind from taking over. Taking a step back, physically or mentally, adds distance and activates the breath. Observing means gathering actual information about the situation rather than acting on assumptions. Proceeding mindfully means consulting Wise Mind: what are the goals here, and what choice moves toward rather than away from them? The skill is especially useful when emotional reactions are fast and strong — when the impulse to attack, flee, or collapse arrives before any reflection is possible. 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The module begins with understanding: emotions have functions (motivating action, communicating to self and others) and are complex full-system responses involving biology, cognition, behavior, and expression. Changing any part of the system can change the whole. 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"secondaryModules": [ "emotion-regulation", "interpersonal" ], "moduleBridgeContexts": [ { "moduleId": "emotion-regulation", "contextText": "Every emotion-regulation strategy requires the automatic escalation to be stopped first - the STOP skill creates the space in which regulation can begin at all." }, { "moduleId": "interpersonal", "contextText": "Impulsive action in relationships undermines every interpersonal intention - the STOP skill protects relationship moments from being taken over by automatic reactions." } ], "relatedIds": [ "stop-step-stop", "take-a-step-back", "stop-observe-step", "proceed-mindfully", "improving-the-moment", "self-soothing" ], "components": [ "stop-step-stop", "take-a-step-back", "stop-observe-step", "proceed-mindfully" ], "situations": [ "krise-akut", "wut-aerger", "anspannung-hoch", "rueckfall-suchtimpuls", "aushalten-sich-beruhigen" ], "practiceNodeIds": [ "rest-strategy" ], "comparisonTitle": "Immediate Help vs. Long-Term Building", "comparisonBullets": [ "interrupts impulse, escalation, or automatism immediately", "fits an overheated moment, impulse breakthrough, or action-stop before reaction", "asks first: how do I stop the escalation right now?" ], "comparisonAxes": [ { "label": "Primary question", "current": "How do I stop the escalation right now?", "candidates": { "build-mastery-and-cope-ahead": "How do I build resilience and preparation for upcoming situations?", "weekly-regulator": "How do I anchor stabilization as a repeatable weekly practice?" } }, { "label": "Direction", "current": "Immediate interruption of impulse, escalation, or automatic behavior.", "candidates": { "build-mastery-and-cope-ahead": "Strengthen longer-term resilience and anticipatory preparation.", "weekly-regulator": "Translate building work into a sustainable and repeatable weekly structure." } }, { "label": "Typical context", "current": "An overheated moment, impulse breakthrough, stopping action before reacting.", "candidates": { "build-mastery-and-cope-ahead": "Predictable stress, longer-term emotion regulation, prevention.", "weekly-regulator": "Recurring dysregulation, lack of regularity, need for a supportive routine." } } ], "comparisonNodeIds": [ "build-mastery-and-cope-ahead", "weekly-regulator" ], "comparisonDescription": "Helps distinguish whether you currently need acute interruption and downregulation or more repeatable building and preparation steps.", "comparisonFocus": "Start here when the escalation must be stopped immediately.", "learningPathType": "bundle-to-steps", "learningPathTitle": "From skill bundle to steps", "learningPathDescription": "Start with the central building blocks of this skill bundle before jumping to broader connection nodes.", "learningPathNodeIds": [ "stop-step-stop", "take-a-step-back", "stop-observe-step", "proceed-mindfully" ], "learningPathSteps": [ { "nodeId": "stop-step-stop", "label": "Open as the first step", "description": "This element is the most direct entry point into the internal structure of the skill bundle.", "pathType": "bundle-to-steps" }, { "nodeId": "take-a-step-back", "label": "Continue within the skill bundle", "description": "This turns the acronym or container into a concrete sequence of action steps.", "pathType": "bundle-to-steps" }, { "nodeId": "stop-observe-step", "label": "Continue within the skill bundle", "description": "This turns the acronym or container into a concrete sequence of action steps.", "pathType": "bundle-to-steps" }, { "nodeId": "proceed-mindfully", "label": "Continue within the skill bundle", "description": "This turns the acronym or container into a concrete sequence of action steps.", "pathType": "bundle-to-steps" } ], "situationLinks": [ { "situationId": "krise-akut", "label": "Acute Crisis", "entryType": "crisis", "pathSegment": "situations", "relationRole": "entry", "fit": "primary", "strength": 0.95, "isPreferred": true }, { "situationId": "wut-aerger", "label": "Anger or Irritation", "entryType": "emotion", "pathSegment": "emotionen", "relationRole": "stabilize", "fit": "primary", "strength": 0, "isPreferred": true }, { "situationId": "rueckfall-suchtimpuls", "label": "Relapse risk or addictive urge", "entryType": "prevention", "pathSegment": "situations", "relationRole": "apply", "fit": "secondary", "strength": 0.78, "isPreferred": true }, { "situationId": "aushalten-sich-beruhigen", "label": "Endure and soothe yourself", "entryType": "crisis", "pathSegment": "situations", "relationRole": "orient", "fit": "secondary", "strength": 0.76, "isPreferred": true }, { "situationId": "anspannung-hoch", "label": "High Tension", "entryType": "crisis", "pathSegment": "situations", "relationRole": "entry", "fit": "secondary", "strength": 0, "isPreferred": true } ] } ], "situations": [ { "id": "krise-akut", "label": "Acute Crisis", "shortLabel": "Crisis", "entryType": "crisis", "isDraft": false, "description": "For moments of acute escalation, high pressure or immediate need for stabilization.", "bodySensation": "Severe heart palpitations, shortness of breath, numbness or dissociation, tingling in the limbs, trembling or freezing, near panic in the body", "impulse": "Act immediately or run away, take control or give up completely, call someone or isolate yourself completely, want to prevent harm", "intensityNotes": "Crises usually escalate very quickly. Cognitive resources are hardly available. Important: physical regulation first before any reflection. Decay often takes longer than the peak.", "longDescription": { "text": "DBT situates acute crises as moments when the prefrontal cortex becomes largely unavailable and the emotional brain takes over. This distinguishes it from high tension, where there is still some cognitive access — in an acute crisis, even familiar skills feel unreachable. The relevant skill categories are crisis survival (TIP, ACCEPTS, distraction) and self-soothing, not reflection or planning. The primary error is attempting emotion regulation or interpersonal problem-solving while the nervous system is still dysregulated — cognitive skills will fail at this activation level. A second common mistake is expecting a quick resolution; crises often have a slow descent phase. Skills that work on the body (temperature, breathing, physical movement) remain accessible even when cognitive resources are absent." }, "preferredNodeIds": [], "conceptLinks": [ { "conceptId": "stop-skill", "relationRole": "entry" }, { "conceptId": "rest-strategy", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "improving-the-moment", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "self-soothing", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "safe-place-visualization", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "cue-controlled-relaxation", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "dialectical-abstinence", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "community-reinforcement", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "stop-step-stop", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "stop-observe-step", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "proceed-mindfully", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "question-which-skill-helps-first", "relationRole": "orient" }, { "conceptId": "question-what-helps-now-vs-long-term", "relationRole": "orient" }, { "conceptId": "question-is-this-self-soothing-or-improving-the-moment", "relationRole": "orient" }, { "conceptId": "physiological-coping-skills", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "take-a-step-back", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "tip-intense-exercise", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "tip-paced-breathing", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "tip-paired-muscle-relaxation", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "tip-skills", "relationRole": "entry" }, { "conceptId": "tip-temperature", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "wise-mind", "relationRole": "orient" } ], "bundleLinks": [ { "bundleId": "stop-skill", "role": "entry" }, { "bundleId": "tip-skills", "role": "entry" } ], "pathSegment": "situations" }, { "id": "anspannung-hoch", "label": "High Tension", "shortLabel": "Tension", "entryType": "crisis", "isDraft": false, "description": "For strong physical or vegetative activation without necessarily a fully escalated crisis.", "bodySensation": "Muscles tense, jaw clenched, breathing shallow and rapid, heat in the neck, internal vibration or feeling driven, stomach tightening", "impulse": "Keeping moving or having to do something, looking for distraction, wanting to get rid of the tension, putting a lot of strain on the body or exhausting it", "intensityNotes": "High tension is often below the crisis threshold, but can quickly tip over. Often chronic and therefore no longer noticed. Body-based skills have a more direct effect here than cognitive approaches.", "longDescription": { "text": "High tension sits below the crisis threshold but above the range where mindfulness-based skills are easy to apply. It is physiologically distinct from inner restlessness — the activation is stronger, more body-centered, and more stable over time. The body has shifted into a state of readiness that resists purely cognitive or reflective approaches. Useful skill categories are body-based regulation (TIP, paced breathing), radical acceptance with movement, and distress tolerance skills that work without cognitive prerequisites. The frequent mistake is treating high tension as a problem to be solved rather than a state to be stabilized — problem-solving raises activation further. Many people only recognize high tension once it has persisted for hours and has started to affect their judgment." }, "preferredNodeIds": [], "conceptLinks": [ { "conceptId": "tip-skills", "relationRole": "entry" }, { "conceptId": "self-soothing", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "physiological-coping-skills", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "take-a-step-back", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "tip-temperature", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "tip-intense-exercise", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "tip-paced-breathing", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "tip-paired-muscle-relaxation", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "safe-place-visualization", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "cue-controlled-relaxation", "relationRole": "stabilize" }, { "conceptId": "question-is-this-self-soothing-or-improving-the-moment", "relationRole": "orient" }, { "conceptId": "improving-the-moment", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "proceed-mindfully", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "rest-strategy", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "stop-observe-step", "relationRole": "apply" }, { "conceptId": "stop-skill", "relationRole": "entry" }, { "conceptId": "stop-step-stop", "relationRole": "apply" } ], "bundleLinks": [ { "bundleId": "tip-skills", "role": "entry" }, { "bundleId": "stop-skill", "role": "entry" } ], "pathSegment": "situations" } ] }