Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

ACT therapy has 3 main umbrellas: they are opening up, being present, and doing what matters. To provide an introduction to ACT, I will briefly explain a technique used in each of these 3 areas. Starting with opening up to thoughts. Thoughts are just thoughts even when they are really scary thoughts. For the next 30 seconds I want you to think and try to convince yourself that you are a butterfly. Think about what it would feel like to be able to fly like a butterfly and concentrate all your efforts on becoming a butterfly, ready set go! Are you a butterfly? If you just read that sentence you are either a very intelligent butterfly or more likely you are still you. See how thinking that thought doesn't make it a reality? While it's a silly example, as human beings we often have thoughts that get stuck and feel as if they are real and it can be a lot harder to recognize them for what they are. This is one of many exercises ACT uses to help clients untangle themselves from thoughts.

Being present with emotions is one of the hardest things for us as humans to do. It often feels easier to avoid emotions or impulsively act on them. Do you remember when you were a kid and took a ball with you to the swimming pool? Did you try to hold the ball under the water? Maybe you tried with your entire body to hold it down, only for it to inevitably pop up out of the water the second you lost your grip on it. Avoiding emotions is often similar. In the short term you may be able to push them down, but inevitably they come back up often with more force than they originally had. Avoidance with emotions comes in many forms; it can be through distraction, numbing, denial and anything else you try to do to get rid of the emotions. Aside from having to eventually face emotions, we also can't choose which emotions get numbed meaning it's not just the hard emotions that get numbed, it's all emotions which leads to feeling disconnected. Using the same ball metaphor, have you ever tried to see through a plastic ball? The world is going to look all blurry and doing the things that are important to you will be harder with a ball in front of your face. Sometimes emotions are like the ball in front of your face that makes it hard to see clearly. When acting impulsively on emotions often the bigger picture of the situation is missed. The emotions obscure your view of your goals and values and in the moment it's about getting the emotion out. This can look like lashing out in anger, acting on fears, making rash decisions, running away, and so much more. In the short term both of these methods may temporarily feel good, but as you've likely experienced in the long term there are consequences. In ACT therapy using this same metaphor the goal is to allow the ball to float in the water by you without trying to control how long it is there for or what it does. Meaning acknowledging emotions and practicing allowing them to be present without struggling against them or making the situation worse. 

Part of human nature is fluctuating between extremes. When it comes to figuring out what is and isn’t in our control this is no exception. It is easy to feel like everything is in your control and you have to figure out how to make sure nothing goes wrong which leads to a very strong feeling of anxiety when circumstances outside of your control happen. It is so common to anxiously try to hold onto control. Look at what OCD and anxiety disorders have you spending your time doing and you will see a host of examples of this. The other extreme is feeling like it is useless to try because we are powerless against life and its circumstances. It feels depressing and hopeless being in this mindset. In ACT therapy the goal is to have a more balanced view in which you are able to grieve and feel the emotions associated with the areas in which you don’t have control while also using what is within your control to do the things that matter. This is part of doing what matters in ACT therapy. If you are interested in learning more please reach out to schedule a free consultation.