Melting Down? Your Nervous System Needs a TIPP

Written By Sue Brown

TIPP—short for Temperature, Intense Exercise, Paced Breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation—is a set of simple strategies that helps the body calm down before the mind is ready. It’s a skill I return to often, especially when a client tells me they feel like they’re drowning in emotion and can’t think straight.

Most people initially meet TIPP with a bit of side-eye. I’ve heard clients say things like, “That sounds…really basic.” Or, “I’m not sure dunking my head into a bowl of ice water is going to help when I feel like the world’s falling apart.”

And I don’t push. I just ask them to try it once when they feel themselves tipping into panic or shutdown.

When they report back, it’s often with surprise in their voice: “I tried it. And something actually shifted. I didn’t expect it, but my body started to settle.”

That’s what TIPP is designed for: to regulate physiological arousal so you can stay present and reduce the likelihood of reacting in ways you might later regret.

How TIPP Works

TIPP works because it goes through the body first. When we’re emotionally overloaded, whether from anxiety, rage, panic or total shutdown, our thinking brain takes a back seat. Our nervous system hijacks the moment.

In Stress Resets, psychologist Dr. Jennifer Taitz explains that DBT teaches people to respond to raw emotional intensity with practical, body-based tools, like cold, movement, breath and grounding. These aren’t tricks. They’re regulation strategies that allow the brain to come back online.

This same idea was highlighted in a New York Times article a while back, which explored DBT’s impact on teens in crisis. Psychologist Dr. Jill Rathus emphasized that when the brain is flooded with emotion, words often don’t land—the brain can’t hear logic when it’s drowning in sensation.

A Quick Walkthrough of the 4 TIPP Strategies

  • Temperature–Cold water face plunge, an ice pack over your eyes or holding something frozen for at least 30 seconds. This stimulates the dive reflex, which naturally slows your heart rate.

  • Intense Exercise–Short bursts of cardio (like jumping jacks or sprint) can burn off stress hormones like adrenaline.

  • Paced Breathing–Slowing the breath (inhale for 4, exhale for 6) cues your parasympathetic nervous system to activate, which is the system responsible for peace and calm.

  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation–Systematically tensing and releasing muscle groups helps shift your attention to the body and discharge pent-up tension.

Each of these techniques can be done in just a few minutes. They don’t require equipment or privacy or perfection. They just require a little willingness.

Belief Helps But Practice is Key

One of the quiet truths of DBT is that belief in a skill makes it more effective. Not because it’s a placebo, but because when we’re open to what a skill can do, we’re more likely to notice its impact, even when it’s subtle.

That said, you don’t have to be all-in to start. You just have to be curious enough to try. Even skeptics often report back that something shifted. The panic softened. Their thinking returned. They made a different choice.

That shift matters.

TIPP Isn’t a Fix—It’s a First Step

TIPP isn’t going to solve a relationship rupture or a depressive episode or a lifetime of trauma. But it can help you stay present long enough to respond rather than react. It’s what I often call a “crisis interruptor.” It lets you hit pause.

It’s simple, yes. But it’s not shallow. And it’s not just for teens in distress or clients in crisis. I use these techniques myself, and I teach them to people navigating grief, burnout, rage, panic and everything in between.

If You Want to Get Better at TIPP:

  • Practice when you’re not in crisis. Run through each of the four techniques during a low-stress moment so you’re not scrambling when you actually need it.

  • Stay with it longer than you think you need to. TIPP can feel awkward at first. But stick with it because the nervous system sometimes takes a minute to catch on.

  • Name what you feel, before and after. Noticing even small shifts helps reinforce the skill and build your confidence.

  • Don’t wait for full belief, just try it. Doubt is fine. Curiosity is enough.

In Case You Need This Today

If you’re overwhelmed and not sure where to start, pick just one:

  • Plunge your face into a bowl of ice water

  • Do 30 seconds of jumping jacks

  • Inhale for 4, exhale for 6

  • Squeeze and release your fists

Then pause.

Check in with your body. Something might feel a little different. That little shift? It’s where regulation begins.

Further Reading & Resources

Sue Brown
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