Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale

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Indicate how often the following 36 statements apply to you by rating each statement on the following scale:

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•   1 – Almost never

•   2 – Sometimes

•   3– About half the time

•   4 – Most of the time

•   5 – Almost always

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1. I am clear about my feelings

2. I pay attention to how I feel

3. I experience my emotions as overwhelming and out of control

4. I have no idea how I am feeling

5. I have difficulty making sense out of my feelings

6. I am attentive to my feelings

7. I know exactly how I am feeling

8. I care about what I am feeling

9. I am confused about how I feel

10. When I’m upset, I acknowledge my emotions

11. When I’m upset, I become angry with myself for feeling that way

12. When I’m upset, I become embarrassed for feeling that way

13. When I’m upset, I have difficulty getting work done

14. When I’m upset, I become out of control

15. When I’m upset, I believe that I will remain that way for a long time

16. When I’m upset, I believe that I’ll end up feeling very depressed

17. When I’m upset, I believe that my feelings are valid and important

18. When I’m upset, I have difficulty focusing on other things

19. When I’m upset, I feel out of control

20. When I’m upset, I can still get things done

21. When I’m upset, I feel ashamed with myself for feeling that way

22. When I’m upset, I know that I can find a way to eventually feel better

23. When I’m upset, I feel like I am weak

24. When I’m upset, I feel like I can remain in control of my behaviors

25. When I’m upset, I feel guilty for feeling that way

26. When I’m upset, I have difficulty concentrating

27. When I’m upset, I have difficulty controlling my behaviors

28. When I’m upset, I believe that there is nothing I can do to make myself feel better

29. When I’m upset, I become irritated with myself for feeling that way

30. When I’m upset, I start to feel very bad about myself

31. When I’m upset, I believe that wallowing is all I can do

32. When I’m upset, I lose control over my behaviors

33. When I’m upset, I have difficulty thinking about anything else

34. When I’m upset, I take time to figure out what I’m really feeling

35. When I’m upset, it takes me a long time to feel better

36. When I’m upset, my emotions feel overwhelming

 

Reverse-scored questions

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For items numbered 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 17, 20, 22, 24 and 34:
reverse the number you put down, making a 1 score as a 5, a 2 score as a 4 and vice versa.
If you answered a 3 to any of the reverse-scored items, don’t make any changes.

After you account for the reverse-scored questions, add up the numbers for all 36 items to arrive at your final score.

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A higher number suggests greater difficulty with emotion regulation.

This test is called the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)* which is one tool to see if you might benefit from DBT. Click here to read the abstract of the study.

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The test was designed by researchers to assess key areas of emotional dysregulation. For more information on the study and its authors: http://www.nctsn.org/content/difficulties-emotion-regulation-scale