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This ‘third-wave’ therapy could be the key to healing your psyche
[trigger warning: mention of suicidal and self-harm thoughts + mental illness]
Pretty much everyone is aboard the therapy train and for good reason. We’re living in some crazy times! (Namely experiencing a societal wide trauma in living through a pandemic.)
But what kind of therapy should you partake in?
A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to enroll in a therapy program that spanned over 12 weeks. My psychiatrist was keen to get me into the program. He had seen huge transformational results in many of his patients.
The program was modelled on Acceptance Commitment Therapy and those 12 weeks became instrumental in changing my life for the better.
ACT is all about utilising mindfulness and acceptance to help people find their values and act accordingly to them. It’s about using these skills to then apply them to situations we can’t control. (Ahem… a pandemic maybe?)
ACT is often coined a ‘third-wave behavioural therapy’ and lumped in with other therapies such as DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy). This is because the focus is on developing mindfulness to reduce distress and create a meaningful life.
What makes ACT stand out from the crowd is that it is often tailored to the individual.
‘When we observe our private experiences with openness and receptiveness, even the most painful thoughts, feelings, sensations and memories can seem less threatening or unbearable’ — Russell Harris
Life is guaranteed to throw curveballs at you. So Why not equip yourself with the skills to ride through the storm and come out the other end better for it?
You live with chronic pain
Chronic pain is a real bummer. It’s a long-term condition that can be absolutely debilitating. It takes away a huge chunk of your quality of life. And oftentimes, it is a lifelong condition.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy can help you come to terms with this condition, and learn to make meaning from it.
As someone who lives with chronic pain due to a back injury and disc degenerative disease, learning how to accept and move forward with my life was key to overcoming my darkest days.
You have mild to moderate depression
Studies into Acceptance Commitment Therapy show that it’s most effective in treating mild to moderate depression. This is because ACT teaches the individual how to observe negative emotions and not place a meaning onto it. Feeling like shit doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It’s just an emotion.
ACT also helps you learn how to use defusion techniques to manage difficult and intense emotions often associated with suicidal and self-harm thoughts.
You are inflexible
A common trait amongst people battling with a mental illness is their sense of inflexibility. One trip up to their day is the be all end all. (I’ve been there hundreds of times!)
ACT therapist and author of the Happiness Trap, Russell Harris, often noted in his patients how trying to control how they felt further trapped them in a vicious cycle of increasing suffering.
When we can’t get past our inflexibility we ultimately create more suffering for ourselves. ACT might be the solution to overcoming your need for control.
You want to better understand your strengths and weaknesses
A key component of Acceptance Commitment Therapy is helping identify your strengths and weaknesses to overcome difficulties.
When we can understand what we’re good at, we feel happier and autonomous. Becoming aware of our weaknesses can empower us to make positive change.
You want to live a more meaningful life
Values are not goals but rather a compass to guide how we want to live our life. ACT can be great for helping individuals discover what the value and ultimately lead a more meaningful life.
If you feel like a big part of your depression is caused by a lack of direction or meaning in your life, ACT could be successful for you.
Want to know more about values? Check out the article below:
You want to reduce the power negative thoughts are having on your life
We should all know by now that what we think is who we become. Negative thoughts are just thoughts, but when we are in the midst of a mental illness these thoughts gain power.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy helps individuals defuse the effect of negative thoughts on us through a process known as ‘cognitive defusion’. Individuals are also encouraged to practice acceptance of their thoughts, and in doing so remove the power so often given to our negativity.
ACT was crucial to helping me get back onto my feet after a particularly trying depressive episode. It gave me the foundations to understanding a holistic approach to my mental wellbeing and overcoming my pesky thoughts! Maybe ACT could be the therapeutic approach for you too.
Love and gratitude,
Bella xx
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