Your Legitimate Rights

These legitimate rights were created to be used alongside DBT – Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.

You have a right to need things from others.

You have a right to put yourself first sometimes.

You have a right to feel and express your emotions or your pain.

You have the right to be the final judge of your beliefs and accept them as legitimate.

You have the right to your opinions and convictions.

You have the right to your experience – even if it’s different from that of other people.

You have the right to protest any treatment or criticism that feels bad to you.

You have a right to negotiate for change.

You have a right to ask for help, emotional support, or anything else you need (even though you may not always get it).

You have the right to say no; saying no does not make you bad or selfish.

You have a right not to justify yourself to others.

You have a right not to take responsibility for someone else’s problem.

You have a right to choose not to respond to a situation

You have a right, sometimes, to inconvenience or disappoint others.