ACT therapy to change your life

Hello Reader,

We’ve been talking about the different therapy modalities in recent blogs!

“I didn’t know therapy had so many different directions to it.” – Reader

Yeah, that is often why therapy with one person might not feel the same compared to another.

When seeking out a therapist for you, I highly recommend shopping! Just as you do when buying food. You’ll start to find what it is that you are looking for as you shop around.

“So we explored CBT and DBT but what about ACT?” – Reader.

Oh! ACT! I love ACT myself! ACT is very much an action-based approach to therapy. This is not for everyone because sometimes someone might not be ready to be in the driver’s seat of their life and start to make those difficult changes. It is important to be open and honest with your therapist because you might need more sympathy and a gentle ear than taking action. When there is even just a sign of change, ACT is for you!

There are six parts to practice when it comes to ACT, acceptance, cognitive de-fusion, being present, self as context, values, commitment.

The main idea around ACT is practicing accepting the sensations of our strong emotions and taking actions based on our values rather than avoiding and/or dismissing the human experience that way you can live the life that you want to live.

One example is in baseball. Hitting the ball with a bat can hurt your hands. If we get scared and try to loosen up our grip, it can hurt even more! We actually have to hold on tight, practice accept the sensation of the bat and the ball colliding in order to reach the goal of scoring. That doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt but it often times hurts less if we accept the sensations. Even more so, we are more like to score if we hold on tight and accept the sensations.

Another example is asking someone out on a date. We are often going to experience the sensation of being anxious and nervous. We can't avoid that experience BUT we can accept that experience and work towards what is important to us, the possibility of a date! If we don't accept the thoughts, feelings and emotions, then we life a very limiting life. A life full of regret and shame.

“I think I understand! Our thoughts, feelings, and emotions are just sensations, and I can choose how to react to them?” – Reader

You got it, Reader!

When it comes to our thoughts, feelings and emotions, we are often in denial. So much so, that we try to find ways to distract, numb, or even go to others to tell us what our experience is. The issue with this is that it is YOUR life, YOUR experiences and not others. The only one who truly understand and can make the changes is you. Trust yourself and be honest with yourself. If you are sad, you’re sad. If you are joyful, you are joyful! The question becomes, what are you going to do with these human experiences?

If we can accept our thoughts, feelings and emotions, we can practice defusing them. I have mentioned this in previous blogs but, YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS. Practice recognizing them as very influential suggestions and you’ll be that much closer to bettering your mental health.

Next, we have to practice being in the present. Our thoughts, sensations, and emotions try to influence us to be either in the past or the future. Practicing mindfulness can be beneficial at this part. Asking ourselves, what am I influenced to do in this moment, is just one great way to separate yourself from your thoughts as well as getting a bit more in the present moment.

Values!!! Your values are very important in guiding meaning in our life. This next step is all about knowing your values and what actions emphasize values in your life. As you experience tension and discrepancy from your thoughts, feelings, and emotions, taking that step back and analyzing your behavior is key. Are your next actions going to be working towards values of yours or are they going to be making your situation worse? Do you need to accept other feelings and emotions at this time to assist with the start of taking action?

Lastly, take that healthy action that is lining up with your values and practice pushing your comfort zone! I can have the thought to not raise my hand and yet I can still choose to act differently and raise my hand. Why is that? Because YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS! You choose how to act to situations but if we can’t even accept the situation for what it is then we start to live in a limited, false reality.

“Wow! I think I am starting to understand. I can act differently than what my thoughts are persuading me to do?” – Reader

You got it! Explore the ACT framework and find what you are needing to work on so you can better your own life!

Key takeaways:

1)      ACT is an action-based type of therapy.

2)      ACT steps are, accepting, cognitive de-fusion, being present, self as context, vales, committed action.

3)      YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS. You can choose to act in a healthy way despite experiencing discrepancy and tension.

4)      Know your values and find healthy and various ways to act on your values.