Re: ACT and resistance(?)

[Guest guest]

Perhaps it would be more healing to do ACT today, rather than reading about it?   :)D

 

When I read ACT now I just feel empty. I don't know what is blocking me. Anxiety, probably. Why am I so afraid of getting away from this point? I am afraid of being taken over by someone else, I guess. Is it that I feel safe inside this self-conception, no matter how destructive it is? Do I really know these things? I am afraid of doing something wrong.

I know this is boring talk.

Bah.

Håkon

-- Darrell G King, RN, CASAC-TRochester, NY, UShttp://darrellking.comDarrellGKing@...

[Guest guest]

Hakon when I first started ACT I had days when I was just as locked up in

thoughts as you are today and still do from time to time. Let me show you

something.

This is a standard defusion exercise in ACT.

Hakon is having the thought " When I read ACT now I just feel empty. "

Hakon is having the thought " I don't know what is blocking me. "

Hakon is having the thought " Anxiety probably! "

Hakon is having the thought " Why am I so afraid of getting away from this

point? "

Hakon is having the thought " I am afraid of being taken over by someone else, I

guess? "

Hakon is having the thought " Is it that I feel safe inside this self-conception,

no matter how destructive it is? "

Hakon is having the thought " Do I really know these things? "

Hakon is having the thought " I am afraid of doing something wrong. "

Hakon is having the thought " I know this is boring talk. "

Hakon is having the thought " Bah. "

By doing this and adding the phrase " I/Hakon am having the Thought " , allows you

to step aside from your thoughts and observe what your mind is saying to you.

Now they are just thoughts, thats all they are. Any question is just a thought,

any evaluation is just a thought, any answer is just a thought, any judgement

is just a thought and sensation you describe is just a sensation that you have

put into a thought.

In stepping aside from your thoughts, you are then able to identify which ones

you trully buying into. Those are the thoughts that create the biggest physical

and emotional sensation in you. If your not sure, just sit with each thought

and observe yourself and your body and you will see which is more powerful.

These thoughts need to be diffused further. You then can say to your mind the

following while visualsing placing the thought on a floating cloud or floating

leaf on a river, the following: -

Thank you mind for the thought " When I read ACT now I just feel empty. "

Thank you mind for the thought " I don't know what is blocking me. "

Thank you mind for the thought " Anxiety probably! "

Thank you mind for the thought " Why am I so afraid of getting away from this

point? "

Thank you mind for the thought " I am afraid of being taken over by someone else,

I guess? "

Thank you mind for the thought " Is it that I feel safe inside this

self-conception, no matter how destructive it is? "

Thank you mind for the thought " Do I really know these things? "

Thank you mind for the thought " I am afraid of doing something wrong. "

Thank you mind for the thought " I know this is boring talk. "

Thank you mind for the thought " Bah. "

Just let the thoughts float away on the cloud or down the river. They are

afterall only thoughts, you don't have to buy into any of these.

This is basic mindfulness and teaches you to become aware of what your mind is

feeding you. I do this exercise everday in fact several times a day. But when

I first started out I did 20 minutes of mindfulness through meditation and

learned to just observe at first, then progressed to diffusion. I carry a little

note book so when my head is busy, I write down my thoughts exactly as you see

above. I found this really helped with fused thinking.

Now I was skeptical when I first started all this. But this is ACT in the doing

sense and I was trying to achieve ACT in a literal academic sense research and

reading. ACT is a process, if you don't do the work and follow the process, you

will struggle to get out of the Mind Trap and learn the benefit of doing ACT.

I would strongly recommend to you to get the " Get out of your mind and into Your

life Book " if you haven't got it already. If you have it, then start at the

begining again and work through the exercising. Chapter 5 & 6 will trully help

you in developing mindfulness to your thoughts and provide good diffusion

excerises. Don't question them, just do them and trust the process, it will

help and it will get you out of your current mind trap.

You know why this has happened, its because your considering going back to

school. Its something you feel challenges you for lots of reasons, they are a

whole load of thoughts tied up in there and you need to sit still and observe

them so that you can, accept they are there and then let go of buying into them

and move forward with your valued objective, which is to get your Geology

degree.

Heres a question for, How many hours of worry, anxiety, stress have you spent

dewelling on talking yourself out of something you trully desire. Imagine where

you would be if you had spent that time instead doing mindfulness and diffusion,

and try and imagine what you would be doing now, if you were not so caught

up/trapped by the thoughts your buying into. What would be better to do, spend

all you time being stressed, anxious worried and not moving forward or would you

rather be doing the mindfulness exercises and at least trying the process out

and seeing if you move forward. It wont happen instantly, you have to do it

often and in the coming weeks you may start to notice subtle little differences.

Once you do notice the subtle differences you will find momentum builds rapidly.

Hakon you are not your thoughts, nor are you your body, or your depression, your

anxiety, your worries and any other health or emotional issues you may have.

You are more than all of these things put together and then some. You are the

chess board, these other elements are just chess pieces, you decide how you

live, not them. you decide what is important, not them and you decide whether to

buy into them or not.

Take time to breath and observe, slow things down, and see whats going on. Its

not easy, you can feel overwhelmed at times, but trust the process, do the

exercises....they work, they really do work.

I hope you are able to trust the ACT process and start working on mindfulness.

With loving kindness

Jo

>

>

> When I read ACT now I just feel empty. I don't know what is blocking me.

Anxiety, probably. Why am I so afraid of getting away from this point? I am

afraid of being taken over by someone else, I guess. Is it that I feel safe

inside this self-conception, no matter how destructive it is? Do I really know

these things? I am afraid of doing something wrong.

>

> I know this is boring talk.

>

> Bah.

>

> Håkon

>