The SUDS scale is one way to communicate to yourself or others how much distress you are experiencing. SUDS stands for Subjective Units of Distress Scale. The scale runs from 0 to 10, least to most distress. It is important that you assign your own measures to this scale. Sometimes, it may seem as if your distress is beyond a 10. This scale is adapted from the work of Smyth (1999).
The following is a SUDS using the negative feeling of anxiety, but the scale can be applied to any negative emotion.
0 I am completely relaxed, with no distress. I may be deep in sleep.
1 I am very relaxed. I may be awake but dozing off.
2 I am awake but feel no tension.
3 I feel a little bit of tension; it keeps my attention from wandering.
4 I am feeling some mild distress, apprehension, fear, or anxiety, and body tension.
5 My distress is somewhat unpleasant but I can still tolerate it. (I am looking at a spiderweb with a huge spider in it, but it is several feet away and the spider can't jump that distance.)
6 I am feeling moderate distress and unpleasant feelings. I have some worry and apprehension.
7 My body tension now is substantial and unpleasant, though I can still tolerate it and can think clearly.
8 I am feeling a great deal of distress with high levels of fear, anxiety, worry. I can't tolerate this level of distress for very long.
9 The distress is so great that it is impacting my thinking. I just can't think straight.
10 I am in extreme distress. I am totally filled with panic and I have extreme tension throughout my body. This is the worst possible fear and anxiety I could ever imagine. It is so great that I just can't think at all.
You may use this SUDS scale at any point in time as you work on overcoming your anxiety. You may decide on which SUDS rating means you should take a break from the work and return to relaxation. You may also decide that getting stuck at a certain SUDS level means that you need to stop doing the work for a period of time and consult with your therapist.
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