ACT Experience

I am posting the summary of my experience on this page with the hope that other members will share their experiences as well.
Some months ago I enrolled in a study made by the Drexel University. My therapist used the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) to help me face my social anxiety. I have also read two useful books about it.
I briefly state what I have learned:
It is not possible to control your thoughts or feelings, and I soon realized this by looking back at my life experiences.
What I have learned is that thoughts are just words in my mind, so toughts are just thoughts, and feelings are just feelings. It looks something logical, but it is very difficult to recognize this in a social context when you experience fear and worry. If I think that I won't be able to speak to a group of people (because of my social anxiety) in that specific situation for example, that does necessarily means that it's going to be true. Being aware that my thought is just a thought is a big step in facing a social situation. The same is true for feeling. ACT helped me to become a better observer.
I have learned that there are two parts of me: a thinking-self, and an observer-self.
The thinking self produces all the possible thoughts: positive, negative, or neutral.
The observer-self is instead that part of me that is aware of what I am thinking, that observes the environment around me and inside me (thoughts and feelings).
Developing the skill of identify these two parts is a key in ACT.
The other fundamental concept is ACT is to live a life based on your values and goals.
There is a bing difference between values and goals.
A value is an on-going process, something that never ends. For example, caring about other people is a value.
A goal is a process that has an end. For example, getting a degree is a goal. Once you get the degree, you reached your goal.
In order to live a meaningful life it is important, first to identify your values and then your goal underlying the values.
Worry and fear will always be part of our path, because is a biological part of being a human being. The important aspect is to act based on your values and goals and never stop our trip because of the obstacles.
This is a brief description of what I have learned in theory. Now I am trying to put this in practice, that is to become a better observer, to accept and be aware of my thoughts and feeling, and to act based on my values and goals.
If you have any experience on this matter, please reply to me. Sharing information is a great tool to improve our life.
Thanks

 

ACT Experience

I am posting the summary of my experience on this page with the hope that other members will share their experiences as well.
Some months ago I enrolled in a study made by the Drexel University. My therapist used the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) to help me face my social anxiety. I have also read two useful books about it.
I briefly state what I have learned:
It is not possible to control your thoughts or feelings, and I soon realized this by looking back at my life experiences.
What I have learned is that thoughts are just words in my mind, so toughts are just thoughts, and feelings are just feelings. It looks something logical, but it is very difficult to recognize this in a social context when you experience fear and worry. If I think that I won't be able to speak to a group of people (because of my social anxiety) in that specific situation for example, that does necessarily means that it's going to be true. Being aware that my thought is just a thought is a big step in facing a social situation. The same is true for feeling. ACT helped me to become a better observer.
I have learned that there are two parts of me: a thinking-self, and an observer-self.
The thinking self produces all the possible thoughts: positive, negative, or neutral.
The observer-self is instead that part of me that is aware of what I am thinking, that observes the environment around me and inside me (thoughts and feelings).
Developing the skill of identify these two parts is a key in ACT.
The other fundamental concept is ACT is to live a life based on your values and goals.
There is a bing difference between values and goals.
A value is an on-going process, something that never ends. For example, caring about other people is a value.
A goal is a process that has an end. For example, getting a degree is a goal. Once you get the degree, you reached your goal.
In order to live a meaningful life it is important, first to identify your values and then your goal underlying the values.
Worry and fear will always be part of our path, because is a biological part of being a human being. The important aspect is to act based on your values and goals and never stop our trip because of the obstacles.
This is a brief description of what I have learned in theory. Now I am trying to put this in practice, that is to become a better observer, to accept and be aware of my thoughts and feeling, and to act based on my values and goals.
If you have any experience on this matter, please reply to me. Sharing information is a great tool to improve our life.
Thanks

 

I am posting the summary of my experience on this page with the hope that other members will share their experiences as well.
Some months ago I enrolled in a study made by the Drexel University. My therapist used the ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) to help me face my social anxiety. I have also read two useful books about it.
I briefly state what I have learned:
It is not possible to control your thoughts or feelings, and I soon realized this by looking back at my life experiences.
What I have learned is that thoughts are just words in my mind, so toughts are just thoughts, and feelings are just feelings. It looks something logical, but it is very difficult to recognize this in a social context when you experience fear and worry. If I think that I won't be able to speak to a group of people (because of my social anxiety) in that specific situation for example, that does necessarily means that it's going to be true. Being aware that my thought is just a thought is a big step in facing a social situation. The same is true for feeling. ACT helped me to become a better observer.
I have learned that there are two parts of me: a thinking-self, and an observer-self.
The thinking self produces all the possible thoughts: positive, negative, or neutral.
The observer-self is instead that part of me that is aware of what I am thinking, that observes the environment around me and inside me (thoughts and feelings).
Developing the skill of identify these two parts is a key in ACT.
The other fundamental concept is ACT is to live a life based on your values and goals.
There is a bing difference between values and goals.
A value is an on-going process, something that never ends. For example, caring about other people is a value.
A goal is a process that has an end. For example, getting a degree is a goal. Once you get the degree, you reached your goal.
In order to live a meaningful life it is important, first to identify your values and then your goal underlying the values.
Worry and fear will always be part of our path, because is a biological part of being a human being. The important aspect is to act based on your values and goals and never stop our trip because of the obstacles.
This is a brief description of what I have learned in theory. Now I am trying to put this in practice, that is to become a better observer, to accept and be aware of my thoughts and feeling, and to act based on my values and goals.
If you have any experience on this matter, please reply to me. Sharing information is a great tool to improve our life.
Thanks

I like the idea of being an observer of our thoughts and feelings. In the past,
I used to try real hard not to be anxious. Now I allow myself to be anxious and focus externally on what is happening. Good post!

 

Hey everyone. I have done months and months of traditional CBT to treat SAD. I am seeing a therapist now and she suggested we do ACT. I am coming here to find information on how effective it is and to hear everyone elses opinions, and give some of my own if I start using it. Good to hear other people have heard of it or used it. Thanks!

 

Wow, never heard of this before!

 

Rocky78 described ACT very well. In sum, ACT helps us get distance from ourselves... it allows us to step back out of the chaos of our own minds and bodies and examine it from a neutral point of view.

For instance, I used to be "merged" with my thoughts. My thoughts were me. The thought that "I am an awkward loser" defined me. I really believed that I was an awkward loser and I needed to fix myself by becoming a winner. But ACT helped me take a step back and realize that the I'm-a-loser story was just a thought in my mind, and I didn't have to believe it or call it "the truth" about myself.

It's helpful to look at moods first for a comparison, because a lot of us already see moods for what they are... we are already practicing ACT in a limited way. When most of us get in a "bad" mood, we call it what it is: "I'm in a bad mood guys, leave me alone for a while until this mood goes away." We see it as a temporary set of feelings. When we are in a bad mood, we don't accept that we are a bad person. We see ourselves as a normal person who just happens to be in a bad mood. We don't change our behaviors or the way we live our life depending on what mood we're in!

Now in ACT, we apply the above way of thinking to thoughts, also. When I keep having thoughts saying "I'm a loser" I don't buy into it. Instead, I see the thought for what it is and say outloud or to myself "This sucks, I"m having that stupid thought again that I'm a loser. It will pass in a few seconds or minutes." So just because I think I'm a loser doesn't mean I am one. It's just my mind whose like a bored drunk guy who keeps repeating bad things. I don't have to become a loser just because my mind keeps repeating the loser story!

And once you get this distance from your own thoughts - like you probably already have with moods, or pains in your leg - it is easier to move on. Hope this way of explaining it helps.

 

seems like such an easy concept! Im a very negative thinker, the thoughts make me feel like Im such an outsider looking in, how different I feel, but i have never heard about this, sounds like something I should look more into and start doing it, My SAD Has gotten really bad to a point where I almost have giving up on it ever getting better, I hate these thoughts but If I think that this is only a feeling and not the truth, just maybe, maybe It can get better.

 

It's me again, still involved in CBT with an ACT / "Buddhistic" emphasis. I'm over seven months in now. I've been seeing my therapist twice weekly (55 minute sessions) for most of this time. This is an update on how it is going.

It is going great! Before the therapy, anxiety had taken over my life to the point where driving to the gas station required days of "planning" and intense feelings of dread and anxiety which caused me to become catatonic, sleep a lot, and sweat. Now, I not only attend to all my appointments and requirements of life (such as going to work, class, driving, grocery shopping, oil changes, etc.), I often "enjoy" doing these things. The anxiety is slowly being defeated. No longer do I worry in advance about what could go wrong or how to carry out simple social tasks. I just do them with little to no worry ahead of time.

I attribute this success to ACT helping me get space from my old thoughts and habits. And equally consequential has been gaining a sense of self... a new sense of who I am, along with good feelings and thoughts involving pride, a sense of worth, strength, and a sense that I contribute to this world. I am also less dependent on the (perceived) signals from others around me to define myself. The sense of my self is increasingly coming from within, with its foundation being me as a practitioner of ACT and meditation.

If driving to going to class begins to worry me, I can easily overcome it by first pointing out that the worry is based on old stories about myself and class. These are just stories. Then, I tell myself that this class does not define who I am. If the class goes well, or somehow goes badly, I still have myself, which will not be destroyed. I can depend on myself. After class, I will go home and meditate. And that simple act gives me enough self-structure to endure things that were impossible before, like going to class.

Lastly, ACT was so successful with me because of my personality type. My ACT therapist told me that this transformation was up to me. ACT and he weren't here to institute new, top-down policies to control me. They were were as tools for me. I am a very independent person who hates authority and the feeling of being controlled. Also, I have a hard time "surrendering" to any person or therapy-type... how dare someone or some therapy claim it knows better than I do regarding my self! Maybe this is because I grew up atheist? My destiny is my own to control, I was taught. Anyway, but ACT allowed me my own way out. I felt like I was in the pilot's seat during ACT. So I embraced it fully and felt no resentment or resistance along the way, even when major changes were happening in my life, feelings, thoughts, and sense of self during the therapy.

I'll try to update again in a couple months. By the way, six months before I began ACT I was put on Celexa, the positive effects of which I was already enjoying long before ACT, and I believe still exist today.

 

Lastly, ACT was so successful with me because of my personality type. My ACT therapist told me that this transformation was up to me. ACT and he weren't here to institute new, top-down policies to control me. They were were as tools for me. I am a very independent person who hates authority and the feeling of being controlled. Also, I have a hard time "surrendering" to any person or therapy-type... how dare someone or some therapy claim it knows better than I do regarding my self! Maybe this is because I grew up atheist? My destiny is my own to control, I was taught. Anyway, but ACT allowed me my own way out. I felt like I was in the pilot's seat during ACT. So I embraced it fully and felt no resentment or resistance along the way, even when major changes were happening in my life, feelings, thoughts, and sense of self during the therapy.

I have been considering getting some CBT therapy but I'm slightly offput by the whole 'reprogramming' approach.

Admittedly I don't understand fully how CBT works, but it sounds to me like the idea is to replace all your negative thoughts with positive ones. I feel like I wont be able to adopt a positive thought unless I evidence that the thought is based on fact. I cannot believe a positive message just because it's positive and good for me to believe in, it has to be grounded in reality. Otherwise it's just a form of brainwashing.

Anyone else have a similar problem with CBT? Or am I misunderstanding how CBT works? ACT sounds like it circumvents this problem, can anyone recommend a good ACT book?

 

I am using ACT methods on myself in relation to my social anxiety. I remind myself that I'm a person that is separate from his experiences. Once I am 'reminded' of that idea, I feel considerably more relaxed.
@sleepytime for ACT you can read the Happiness Trap by Russ Harris and Get Out Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven Hayes. I'm using the methods in these books right now and I'm feeling better and behaving better. I'm also using CBT methods in combination with ACT methods but I use more ACT methods.

 

Thanks for the recommendations, I will look both those up I've started using the Dr. Richards CBT program, it's pretty good so far but I feel ACT might be even more useful for me.

From what I understand the difference between CBT and ACT is that where CBT attempts to reprogramme your thoughts and beliefs, ACT teaches you to distance yourself from your thoughts and beliefs? I've read a book called 'the power of now' by Eckhart Tolle which seems to based on a similar principle.

Do you practice mindful meditation also? Is that a part of ACT?

 

ACT is pretty good stuff. I too was in a study that did mindfulness and ACT together. I thought it was jus a bunch of utter new age crap at first. There is really something to this approach. Thumbs up over just CBT.

Truth though the researchers gave me the scoop that both CBT an ACT showed very similar results. Maybe all that's necesary is a radical self help program backed by strong authority lol

 

I just started reading The Happiness Trap today after reading this thread, and it is really great; I definitely recommend it. ACT suits me a lot better than CBT, which I've tried in the past, I think because the biggest part of my SA is my inability to get perspective when I have negative thoughts. Learning how to be kind to myself, and that I'm not a huge failure/totally abnormal is really helpful.

 

This is the best treatment for social anxiety. Once you accept and surrender to what is is when your SA goes away forever. Great post Drew.

 

ACT and body signs

Dear Members of forum,

i would like to ask some questions concerning a problem that causes some troubles for a long time. My prob: I suffer from Social Phobia, I am in psychologists (behaviour therapy) that does not help me so much. On the contrary ACT gave me some interesting ideas. I think that getting into distance to my thoughts helps me well with this problem.

My second problem is that i suffer from hypersalivation for half a year now(or at least i have a hypersalivation when i think on it) that makes it very difficult now to do some meditation that -through time- became extremely important for me, because i realised to get a distance to my thoughts, to get easier in contact with other persons, sometimes without fear what made me very happy.

But now the fusion to thoughts and fear returned. I want to describe it more clearly: doing some practical work or doing housework etc. i do not think at saliva in my mouth, but when I let flow the thoughts like leaves on a river i can not observe my thoughts without thinking on saliva (I had much success with this method before). The river of thoughts flows in my imagination in my head or a bit in front of it. It is difficult to describe but it is like if observing thoughts is like observing my head and the mouth with saliva is in the head and thus i think on saliva when i observe my thoughts.

I have tried to let flow the thoughts some meters in front of my head. Or even to say, "ah ok there is a sign of the body", but it is extremely difficult to accept the saliva. I think the more I try to accept it like " ok, there is some saliva" the stronger it becomes.

I hope you could understand my bad english (i am sorry for this) and that you can help me.

Sincerely yours
Michael

 

I wish I would have found this ten years ago. It would have saved me so much strife and pain. I've tried every way of dealing with anxiety and depression, but this is by far the best method.

I highly recommend it to anyone who is willing to put in the work.

 

Hi , ACT or Acceptance Commitment Therapy has work for me especially my Bipolar II type, and my Social Anxiety (really Panic Disorder). I like book "The Happines Trap" but there is another book that my therapist recommended "Get Out Your Mind & Into Your Life." by Steven C. Hayes with Spencer Smith. It is also a Very good book, practicing ACT has me taught me come back into present moment and live it. A simple but not easy thing to do especially when the diagnosed conditions that I have...

 

This stuff sounds great, are there any step-by-step books like "Feeling Good" is for CBT?

I get the sense that "the Happiness Trap" and "Get Out of Your Mind..." are just primers.

 

ACT is helpful for me, too. The books you mentioned, Happiness Trap and Get out of your mind..., are full of exercises and little experiments that you can do on your thoughts, feelings, body sensations. In the Hayes book, there are dozens of methods on how to "defuse" from our thoughts, so in that way, it is a kind of step-by-step book. (he calls fusion as the process that we mistakenly become fused with our thoughts--like our thoughts become so important and believable to us--and defusion is the reversing of that process, a way to become detached from thoughts)

 

Just reading book "The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy". This book includes CD with worksheets, self-assessments, and guided mindfulness meditations. For me, it's much easier to read than "Get out of your mind..." (English is not my first language). I am 43 years old and I tried everything with "fight" against SA. I hope this therapy will help me to change my life. I am sick of struggle...

 

I also picked up this book while I was looking for a CBT workbook. When I saw the words "Mindfulness" and "Acceptance", it immediately resonated with me. I read the intro and it seems very promising as a permanent solution to social anxiety getting in the way of your life. I've also done CBT group therapy for SA, but can still see how my thoughts hinder me in social situations. I'm skeptical if this type of therapy will really help me, as I'm afraid to see it as a last resort when nothing else has worked. ACT also seems to focus on a life path despite living with anxiety- but if I find my life to be meaningless, what would be the point of this therapy then? I wonder if there is a piece of the puzzle missing before I go about incorporating this new practice into my life.

 

ACT is the type of therapy I do...have...therap? (I'm not really sure of the correct verb here) It's helped more than anything else has, and fits well with my mind set.

 

Interesting. I've heard about that and I think maybe trying it would really help.

 

I've been doing ACT for a couple of months now, and I'm not quite all the way through "Get Out of Your Mind...". In theory, it makes a lot of sense to me. I think it's going to take a little time and a lot of effort to see major results, but I'm already having some small victories.

I've tried CBT, but it's not been for me. It's possible I've never had a decent CBT therapist. Three times that I can remember, I've started with therapists who have promised CBT, and after several months, I realize we've been doing nothing but talking. I had one guy who was a serious CBT dude. He was such a dick, we never got beyond, "Go home and exercise." (Here's a clue, Sparky: If I could just go do it, I wouldn't need therapy)

ACT is more about taking myself out of my comfort zone, which is obviously something a person with major league avoidance issues does not do well. But the approach in the book REALLY helps me to begin doing just that.

So that's a little about my experience. I wish I could do a better job of defining it, but I think you can find a lot of good info online.

Here's the book I'm using: Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life

I would highly recommend going through it with an ACT therapist. Reading it on your own is not going to be as beneficial, IMO.

 

I'd just like to add... although I guess I could have edited my last post...

In order for ACT to be effective, you really have to want it, and you have to commit to it hardcore. It's going to put you in uncomfortable places, and you need to be willing to feel uncomfortable. It's an all-or-nothing approach, as far as pure willingness goes.

 

I started the workbook a few months ago, but I got stuck somewhere in the middle... I guess I'm having trouble commiting or finding a reason to continue. I have no notion of awareness and separating my thoughts from myself.:afr

 

I know that your 20s are supposed to be the time to figure your life out. But by the time you turn 30 you are supposed to have everything sorted out. Because turning 30 is the universal definition of adulthood.

But what's going to change in such a short amount of time? I will be completely honest. Browsing this site can be very depressing at times. But wow, reading the 30+ members forum is like a window to the future. That place is like ten times more emotionally crippling than the frustration forum. On most days I try to be very optimistic but some days I will have it bad. Then I will read a thread that confirms my deepest fears and I can't stop thinking about the worst outcomes.

Not sure quite what I think, the link was too scientifical for me. at this momnet in time... I will talk to my therapist about it and see what he thinks i value his opinion.... thanks for the insight.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is related to a transcendental philosophy and incorporates many of the same methods as CBT. ACT differs from CBT not in the way it is administered, but in how patients are instructed to think about their anxiety. While CBT focuses on changing emotional responses and feelings, ACT focuses on accepting them and moving forward from that point.

There is little scientific research as to the benefits of ACT, however, many patients report that is has helped them discover more about their disorder and how to manage it by discovering more about themselves and their emotional wellness as a whole.

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_and_Commitment_Therapy

 

My problem is that I always know my negative thoughts are just thoughts, though often it is still difficult to separate myself from them, to see the thoughts are truly powerless no matter how terrible they make me feel. And I think that is why, because of how they make me feel and how real they seem. I'm a very visual thinker and that is a large part of why the negative thoughts are so painful to me. I think things like ACT are much easier when dealing with simple narrative voices and statement thoughts instead. Either way though it's so difficult because I don't feel like I have a strong foundation to hold onto and ground myself to, to really know who I am in ways that are unchanging. So instead I don't really know who I am beyond the changing feelings. Which gives the thoughts and feelings a lot more power to seem like they are all I have, they are my entire experiences. My mind is just always paying attention to how I feel each moment and wants to feel good always. So when I think or feel aversive things, even if I know intellectually that they are just thoughts and feelings, and therefore are not permanent, my mind is so intolerant to experience the pains, cause it's so attached to feeling good. Feeling negative emotions activates my fight or flight and scares me so much! They always have the illusion they'll torment forever or if you allow them and don't escape from the situation, thus allowing them to last longer, that they'll do far more psychological damage, which activates even more anxiety for me about them. My anxiety is mostly over having the feelings and thoughts themselves.

So that's the problem I have with these types of therapies. I could tell my mind all I want that the thoughts are not real and are just thoughts. Though it's not much consolation that they are just some thoughts if they hurt so much. Though I know fearing and pushing away thoughts only makes them stronger, I just can't get myself to accept the pain.

If I could really have faith that the pain wouldn't last or they wouldn't still keep coming with such frequency to exhaust me, then it'd be easier to not avoid. :blank

 

Finding yourself is the key with ACT - you need to work out your core values so that you can disarm those annoying negative narratives going through your head and say "%$#@ off -that's not who I am!" I found that the trick with the pain was just to let it go, although that is easier said than done.