Get Out of Your Mind and into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Product Information

What you are doing is practicing broadening and narrowing the flashlight beam of attention; and shifting and staying, as you might move a flashlight from one place to another. As much as I want to agree with the stop-thinking asceticism of cognitive behaviorism meets buddhism ("We're not saying don't feel your feelings! Feel them so deeply you don't care! Um! This makes sense to me sometimes while I'm at ACT therapy seminars!"), it just doesn't work for the more think-y among us. I like being in my mind. Being in my mind is being in my life. Finding varying ways to relate to pain -- sometimes cowering from it and sometimes snuggling up to it -- is what marks me as a human being. I find that ACT self-help book read dogmatically. And I think the mark of any bad self-help book and definitely any bad psychotherapy is a one size fits all approach -- believing so deeply as Hayes does that the tenets of this book repudiate other ways people try to help themselves. ACT is not about fighting your pain; it’s about developing a willingness to embrace every experience life has to offer. It’s not about resisting your emotions; it’s about feeling them completely and yet not turning your choices over to them. ACT offers you a path out of suffering by helping you choose to live your life based on what matters to you most. If you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or problem anger, this book can help—clinical trials suggest that ACT is very effective for a whole range of psychological problems. But this is more than a self-help book for a specific complaint—it is a revolutionary approach to living a richer and more rewarding life.

Get Out Of Your Mind And Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes

It took me about six months to finish this one, mostly because some sections were so tedious that I had trouble staying with it. The writing style was a bit pedantic at times, particularly with arguments from definition by looking at the etymology of words. This was a very exercise focused workbook, especially early on, with the portions I cared most about not coming until the book was almost done. I thought some of the early writing - even though they set out to write in lay terms - was opaque to read for whatever reason. I think it was stylistic - it might just be me - but that's how I felt. Whenever you’re not feeling motivated, it helps to have some strategies that can give you a push. Here are six things you can try to boost your motivation.Defusion is like taking off your glasses and holding them out, several inches away from your face; then you can see how they make the world appear to be yellow, instead of seeing only the yellow world” (71) We began crafting ways to apply defusion and self skills to coping with the fear and pain of acceptance. Learning to defuse from the voice of the Dictator helps us keep a healthy distance from the negative messages that pop uninvited into our minds, like “Who are you kidding, you can’t deal with this!” It also helps diminish the power of the unhelpful relations that have been embedded in our thought networks, which are often activated by the pain involved in acceptance. For example, the relation between smoking a cigarette and feeling better will be triggered by the discomfort of craving a smoke. Reconnecting with our authentic self helps us practice self-compassion as we open up to unpleasant aspects of our lives, not berating ourselves for making mistakes or for feeling fear about dealing with the pain. We see beyond the image of a broken, weak, or afflicted self to the powerful true self that can choose to feel pain.”

Get out of Your Mind and into Your Life | Request PDF Get out of Your Mind and into Your Life | Request PDF

This is far and away the most usefull and insightful self help/therapy book I have ever used. I chose the word "used" over "read" quite intentionally. I did not use it in a vacuum- rather did it while in therapy with a trained ACT therapist. That isn't to say that it couldn't be helpful on its own. It is important that you do the activities and I believe it is essential to discuss with another your activities, thoughts and impression. Steven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of thirty-four books and more than 470 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and cofounded ACT, a powerful therapy method that is useful in a wide variety of areas. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental resources. Here's what you are capable of.

Get Out of Your Mind | Psychology Today UK Get Out of Your Mind | Psychology Today UK

By shifting our focus to processes of change and leveraging the power of everyday nudges, we can create a more personalized, accessible, and effective therapeutic experience. For example, the client who values education might be asked, “What if you received the education, but no one knew. Would that still be of importance?”Basado en las técnicas ACT - acceptance and commitment therapy, forma parte de la nueva ola de terapias cognitivas en donde pasa a ser fundamental lo siguiente: During this chapter I’m realizing why smarter people are often more anxious/depressed and I also worry that because baby is soooo good at relating words and concepts to each other he is at an even higher risk for psychological pain. I hope not though. Thought: It could be that pain is not really synonymous with suffering. It could be that pain plus unwillingness to feel that pain equals suffering.