Real Talk. Real Life.

Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs):

The SUD-level was developed by Joseph Wolpe in 1969.[1] It has been used in cognitive-behavioral treatments and for research purposes.

There is no hard and fast rule by which a patient can self assign a “SUD”s rating to his or her disturbance or distress, hence the name subjective.

Try to get used to rating your distress, fear, anxiety or discomfort on a scale of 0-10. Imagine you have a ‘distress thermometer’ to measure your feelings according to the following scale.

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