Using
ACCEPTANCE
Open Up
VALUES
Know What Matters
PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY
DEFUSION
Watch Your Thinking
COMMITTED ACTION
Do What Works
SUFFERING
VALUES
VITALITY
YOUR MIND
www.actmindfully.com.au
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I willingly accept my thoughts and feelings even when I dont like them
10
ACCEPTANCE SCALE
8 7 6 5 43
I spend most of my time lost in thought about the past or future I constantly struggle with my thoughts and feelings I dont know what I want from life
4 5
6 7
89
10
DEFUSION SCALE
I see each of my thoughts as just one of many ways to think about things what I do next is up to me
10
87
3 5 4
2 1
My thoughts tell me how things really are, and determine what I do next Deep down, my thoughts and feelings are the real me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12
45
67
9 10
I work out what I need to do about the things I care about, and I see it through
SCORES
My thoughts and feelings come and go, but deep down the real me doesnt change
Acceptance scale ................ ___ Commitment & Taking action scale . ___ Attention to present scale .... ___ Defusion scale ... ___ Values Identification scale .. ___ Self as Observer scale .................. ___ Resulting psychological flexibility (TOTAL SCORE) ... ___
Exercise: Write your Problem Management Epitaph Your task in this exercise is to write your epitaph (the inscription on your gravestone) as it would be written if you were to die today. What would it say if it was about what youve been doing to manage your problems? What have you become by living in the service of your thoughts and feelings? Bring to mind all of your coping-and-management strategies and be mindful of how theyve gotten in the way of what you want to do. Think of everything you say aloud, think to yourself, or do with your hands or feet. List them all.
Exercise: My valued Life Epitaph Imagine that you could live your life free of any physical ailments, anxiety, or fears. Wouldnt that be something? As you connect with this, imagine that one day the headstone in the drawing below will be the headstone on your grave. Notice that the headstone is blank. Your epitaph (words describing your life) hasnt been written. What inscription would you like to see on your headstone? Think of a phrase or series of brief statements that would capture the essence of the life you want to lead. What is it you want to be remembered for? What would you be doing with your time and energy if you could do anything? Give yourself some time to think about these really important questions. If you find an answeror more than onejust write them down on the lines on your headstone. Think big. There are no limits to what you can be remembered for.
Intention: What do I want my work or career to be about or stand for? What is important to me about my work (for example, nancial security, intellectual challenge, independence, prestige, interacting with or helping people, and so on)?
John P. Forsyth and Georg H. Eifert/New Harbinger Publications 2007
2. Intimate relationships (e.g., marriage, couples) Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: What kind of partner would I most like to be within an intimate relationship? What type of marital or couple relationship would I like to have? How do I want to treat my partner? 3. Parenting Importance: Satisfaction: 4. Education/learning (personal growth) Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: What type of parent do I want to be? How do I want to interact with my children?
Intention: Why is learning important to me? What skills, training, or areas of competence would I like to acquire? What would I really like to learn more about?
5. Friends/social life Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: What kind of friend do I want to be? What does it mean to be a good friend? How do I behave toward my best friend? Why is friendship important to me? 6. Health/physical self-care Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: How and why do I take care of myself? Why do I want to take care of my body and my health through what I eat, by exercising, or by being physically t? 7. Family of origin (family relationships other than marriage or parenting) Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: How do I want to interact with my family members? What type of sister or brother do I want to be? What type of son or daughter do I want to be?
8. Spirituality Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: What are the mysteries of life before which I stand in awe? What are the things larger than my own life that inspire me? In what (if anything) do I have faith? 9. Community life/environment/nature Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: What can I do to make the world a better place? Why are community activities (such as volunteering, voting, recycling) important to me? What do I care about in the environment or nature (e.g., being outdoors, gardening, hiking, camping, communing with nature)? 10. Recreation/leisure Importance: Satisfaction: 0 = not at all important 1 = moderately important 0 = not at all satised 1 = moderately satised 2 = very important 2 = very satised
Intention: How do I feed myself through hobbies, sports, or play? Why do I enjoy these things?
MY BARRIERS
Important Value Area (From Values Worksheet:
__________________________________
YOU
Barriers
VALUE INTENTIONS
MY BARRIERS
Important Value Area (From Values Worksheet:
__________________________________
YOU
Barriers
VALUE INTENTIONS
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The Mindfulness
time. When you notice that your mind has wandered, gently congratulate yourselfyou have come back and are once more aware of your experience! You may want to acknowledge briey where your mind has been (Ah, theres thinking or Theres feeling). Then, gently escort your attention back to the breath coming in and going out. As best you can, bring a quality of kindness and compassion to your awareness. See the wanderings of your mind as opportunities to bring patience and gentle curiosity to your experience. When you become aware of bodily sensations and feelings, tension, or other intense sensations in parts of your body, just notice them, acknowledge their presence, and see if you can make space for them. Dont try to hold on to them or make them go away. Open your heart. Make some room for the discomfort, for the tension, for the anxiety, just allowing them to be there. Is there enough space in you to welcome in all of your experiences? Watch the sensations change from moment to moment. Sometimes they grow stronger, sometimes they stay the same, and sometimes they grow weakerit doesnt really matter what they do. Breathe calmly in to and out from the sensations of discomfort, imagining the breath moving in to and out from that region of the body. Remember, the purpose is not to feel better but to get better at feeling and being with all that is you, as it is. If you notice that youre unable to focus on your breathing because of intense physical sensations of discomfort, let go of your focus on the breath and shift your focus to the place of discomfort. Gently direct your attention on and into the discomfort and stay with it, no matter how bad it seems. Take a look at it. What does it really feel like? Again, see if you can make room for the discomfort and allow it to be there. Are you willing to be with whatever you have? Along with physical sensations in your body, you may also notice thoughts about the sensations and thoughts about the thoughts. You may notice your mind coming up with evaluations such as dangerous or getting worse. If that happens, simply label those evaluations as thinking and return to the present experience as it is, not as your mind says it is, noticing thoughts as thoughts, physical sensations as physical sensations, feelings as feelingsnothing more, nothing less. To help you experience the difference between yourself and your thoughts and feelings, you can name thoughts and feelings as you notice them. For instance, if you notice youre worrying, silently say to yourself, Worry . . . there is worry, just observing worry and not judging yourself for having these thoughts and feelings. If you nd yourself judging, just notice that and call it Judging . . . there is judging and observe that with a quality of kindness and compassion. You can do the same with other thoughts and feelings and just name them as planning, reminiscing, longing, or whatever you experience. Label the thought or emotion and move on. Thoughts and feelings come and go in your mind and body. You are not what those thoughts and feelings say, no matter how persistent or intense they may be. You are the place and the space for your experience. Make that space a kind space, a gentle space, a loving space, a welcome home. As this time for formal practice comes to an end, gradually widen your attention to take in the sounds around you . . . notice your surroundings and slowly open your eyes with the intention to bring this awareness to the present moment and into the upcoming moments of the day.
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EXeRCISe: USING YOuR WISe MIND TO UNHOOK FROm PaRTS OF YOuR EXPeRIeNCe
Thoughts
Actions
Feelings
The Mindfulness
The next exercise is another opportunity to develop space between your judgmental mind and your experience. Again, the easiest way to practice is to listen to the audio version on the CD.
Do the Leaves on a Stream exercise every other day for a couple of weeks. As you get better at it, you can start practicing it during real-life experiences with your eyes open. You can also allow yourself to take the perspective of the stream, just as you did in the chessboard exercise. Being the stream, you hold each of the leaves and notice the thought, feeling, memory, or urge that each leaf carries as it sails by. You need not interfere with themjust let them oat by and do what they do until they are eventually carried out of sight. And notice how youre learning to be an observer.
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In our previous exercises, we have used the breath as the focus of attention. When the mind wandered off and started focusing on thoughts, worries, images, or feelings, you were asked to notice these thoughts and feelings and then gently redirect attention back to your breath. In this exercise, we actively and openly invite into our awareness bodily sensations and unwanted thoughts, worries, and images so that you may learn to approach them in an accepting and compassionate way. Just like in the finger trap and tug-of-war exercises, this exercise encourages you to lean into anxiety rather than fight it. Leaning into anxiety means creating a space for you to feel your emotions and think your thoughts, experiencing them as they are, rather than what your mind tells you they are. It also provides you with space to do things with your life that you may have put on hold for a long time. Are you willing to do an exercise to help you do that? [Wait for clients permission and then move on.] Go ahead and get in a comfortable position in your chair. Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor, your arms and legs uncrossed, and your hands resting in your lap (palms up or down, whichever is more comfortable). Allow your eyes to close gently [pause 10 seconds]. Take a few moments to get in touch with the physical sensations in your body, especially the sensations of touch or pressure where your body makes contact with the chair or floor. Notice the gentle rising and falling of your breath in your chest and belly. There is no need to control your breathing in any waysimply let the breath breathe itself [pause 10 seconds]. As best you can, also bring this attitude of allowing and gentle acceptance to the rest of your experience. There is nothing to be fixed. Simply allow your experience to be your experience, without needing it to be other than what it is [pause 10 seconds]. It is natural for your mind to wander away to thoughts, worries, images, bodily sensations, or feelings. Notice these thoughts and feelings, acknowledge their presence, and stay with them [pause 10 seconds]. There is no need to think of something else, make them go away, or resolve anything. As best you can, allow them to be giving yourself space to have whatever you have bringing a quality of kindness and compassion to your experience [pause 10 seconds]. Allow yourself to be present to what you are afraid of. Notice any doubts, reservations, fears, and worries. Just notice them and acknowledge their presence, and do not work on them [pause 10 seconds]. Now see if for just a moment you can be present with your values and commitments. Ask yourself, Why am I here? Where do I want to go? What do you want to do? [pause 15 seconds] Now focus on a thought or situation that has been difficult for you. It could be a particular troubling thought, worry, image, or intense bodily sensations [pause 10 seconds]. Gently, directly, and firmly shift your attention on and into the discomfort, no matter how bad it seems [pause 10 seconds]. Notice any strong feelings that may arise in your body, allowing them to be as they are rather than what you think they are, simply holding them in awareness [pause 10 seconds]. Stay with your discomfort and breathe with it [pause 10 seconds]. See if you can gently open up to it and make space for it, accepting and allowing it to be [pause], while bringing compassionate and focused attention to the sensations of discomfort [pause 15 seconds].
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7. If you notice yourself tensing up and resisting what you have, pushing away from the experience, acknowledge that and see if you can make some space for whatever youre experiencing [pause 10 seconds]. Must this feeling or thought be your enemy? [pause 10 seconds] Or can you have it, notice it, own it, and let it be? [pause 10 seconds] Can you make room for the discomfort, for the tension, for the anxiety? [pause 10 seconds] What does it really feel likemoment to momentto have them? [pause 10 seconds] Is this Georg H. Eifert and John P. Forsyth/New Harbinger Publications 2005
something you must struggle with or can you invite the discomfort in, saying to yourself with willingness, Let me have it; let me feel what there is to be felt because it is my experience right now? [pause 15 seconds] 8. If the sensations or discomfort grow stronger, acknowledge their presence, stay with them [pause 10 seconds], breathing with them, accepting them [pause 10 seconds]. Is this discomfort something you must not have, you cannot have? [pause 10 seconds] Even if your mind tells you that you cannot, can you open up a space for it in your heart? [pause 10 seconds] Is there room inside you to feel that with compassion and kindness twoard yourself and your experience? [pause 15 seconds] 9. Apart from physical sensations in the body, you may also notice thoughts coming along with the sensations, and thoughts about the thoughts. When you notice any such thoughts, also invite them in . . . softening and opening to them as you become aware of them [pause 10 seconds]. You may also notice your mind coming up with evaluative labels such as dangerous or getting worse. If that happens, you can simply thank your mind for the label [pause 10 seconds] and return to the present experience as it is, not as your mind says it is, noticing thoughts as thoughts, physical sensations as physical sensations, feelings as feelingsnothing more, nothing less [pause 15 seconds]. 10. Stay with your discomfort for as long as it pulls on your attention [pause 10 seconds]. If and when you sense that the anxiety and other discomfort are no longer pulling for your attention, let them go [pause 15 seconds]. Then, when you are ready, gradually widen your attention to take in the sounds around you in this room [pause 10 seconds]. Take a moment to make the intention to bring this sense of gentle allowing and self-acceptance into the present moment [pause 5 seconds], and when you are ready, slowly open your eyes.
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Breathing in pain and breathing out relief is the basis of an ancient form of meditation known as Tonglen (meaning giving and receiving). Welcoming your pain and giving away good may strike you as odd. It goes against the grain. This is precisely why it can be so powerful. When you embrace what you dont like, you transform it. That transformation will release you from attachment to pleasure seeking, fear, and self-absorption, and it will nurture your capacity for love and compassion. The next exercise will help you develop this important skill.
You can also practice Tonglen in everyday life. Whenever anxiety shows up, you can remind yourself, Other people feel this too. Im not alone with this. It will help ease the sense of isolation and burden of feeling that youre alone with your WAFs.
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In your minds eye, see yourself wiping away their tears and extending love. Open your arms and wrap that person in your kind embraceextend your heart. Allow yourself to connect your kindness with that person. They are no longer alone. You are not alone. You are uniting with them in their suffering and in yours too. By your generous act, you are sharing your capacity for kindness and healing. Stay with them as long as you wish. Continue to sit quietly with this moment in time. And when you are ready, gradually widen your attention to the sounds around you. Open your eyes with the intention to extend loving-kindness to yourself and others each moment of this day.
Kindness begets kindness. Its uplifting energy that will weaken the power of your judgmental WAF mind thats keeping you stuck. Kindness waters the seeds of compassion and acceptance in you. Many people nd that their capacity for loving-kindness grows as they practice the loving-kindness meditation by bringing other people to mind, such as someone they may respect or like, someone they dont get along with particularly well, or someone they dont know all that well. You can do the same as you develop this important skill.
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Anxiety
Eifert, G., & Forsyth, J. (2005). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxiety disorders: A practioners treatment guide to using mindfulness, acceptance, and value-guided behavior change strategies. Oakland: New Harbinger. [professional book / treatment protocol / CD with forms] Forsyth, J. P., & Eifert, G. H. (2008). The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias, and worry using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [client workbook / treatment protocol / CD with forms and audio exercises] Walser, R., & Westrup, D. (2007). Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & Trauma-Related Problems: A Practitioner's Guide to Using Mindfulness & Acceptance Strategies. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [professional book / treatment protocol / CD with forms] Follette, C., & Pistorello, J. (2007). Finding Life Beyond Trauma: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Heal from Post-Traumatic Stress and Trauma-Related Problems. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [client workbook / treatment protocol] Lejeune, C. (2007). The Worry Trap: How to Free Yourself from Worry & Anxiety using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. Twohig, M., & Hayes, S. C. (2008). ACT Verbatim for Depression and Anxiety: Annotated transcripts for learning Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger & Reno, NV: Context Press. [professional book / walking through transcripts of a treatment case] McCurry, C. (2009). Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. [client workbook]
Anger
Eifert, G. H., McKay, M., & Forsyth, J. P. (2006). Act on life not on anger: The new Acceptance and Commitment Therapy guide to problem anger. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [client workbook]
Depression
Zettle, R. (2007). ACT for Depression: A Clinician's Guide to Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy in Treating Depression. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [professional book / treatment protocol / CD with forms] Robinson, P., & Strosahl, K. D. (2008). The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to move through depression and create a life worth living. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [client workbook / treatment protocol / CD with forms]
Pain
Dahl, J. & Lundgren, T. (2006). Living beyond your pain: Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to ease chronic pain. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [client workbook]
Hayes, S. C., & Smith, S. (2005). Get out of your mind and into your life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. McKay, M., & Sutker, C. (2007). Leave Your Mind Behind. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. McKay, M., Forsyth, J.P., & Eifert, G. H. (2010). Your life on purpose: How to find what you want & do what matters. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. [forthcoming ACT-informed client book exploring values and tools to move with barriers to valued action]
least three outcomes require changes in the ACT process variables we assessed. Neat stuff! We have a third RCT underway at the moment (N = 200, representing over 25 countries). This comparative clinical trial is evaluating the Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety (MAWA; see above) in a self-help format (no therapist monitoring/supervision) relative to a more traditional CBT workbook (The Cognitive & Behavioral Workbook for Anxiety; CBWA) in persons reporting significant difficulties with anxiety and fear. The data are still rolling in, but at present (n = 61) we are showing that both workbooks produce equivalent and significant pre- to post-treatment improvements in anxiety, worry, fear of fear, thought suppression, anxiety control, and quality of life. Yet, there were a number of significant interactions showing that the MAWA yields greater improvements in depression, PTSD symptomatology, OCD, self-compassion, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, metacognitions (or thoughts about thoughts), and defusion. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large. We are in the middle of the 3 and 6month follow up phases. Stay tuned. We are also now developing a modular online intervention for veterans of the OIF/OEF conflicts. This self-paced program consists of multimedia presentations, mindfulness audio exercises, and written worksheets that service members can complete from the privacy of their home. Recruitment will most likely begin between late October and the end of November. If you are interested in recommending the study to your patients, please let us know. You can reach me at cberghoff@gmail.com.