Episode Summary
In today’s episode I share my initial thoughts about the book Get Out Of Your Mind & Into Your Life. It was recommended to me by my NHS therapist at my first appointment yesterday. Already just the introduction is making me curious about ACT.
Episode Show Notes
00:11 – The Background to today’s episode.
00:41 – They make the distinction between pain and suffering.
00:49 – The ACT approach appears to be one about moving form suffering to engagement with life.
01:11 – ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) is a third wave therapy that is scientific based.
01:38 – It challenges conventional thinking and may “take some seemingly strange twists and turns. At times it may be confusing“.
02:25 – Here are just a few of the concepts it suggests the reader will need to consider:
- Psychological pain is normal, it is important, and everyone has it.
- You cannot deliberately get rid of your psychological pain, although you can take steps to avoid increasing it artificially.
- Pain and suffering are two different states of being.
- You don’t have to identify with your suffering.
- Accepting your pain is a step toward ridding yourself of your suffering.
- You can live a life you value, beginning right now, but to do that you will have to learn how to get out of your mind and into your life.
03:59 – They use a battlefield metaphor that I am still processing.
04:50 – I thought their quicksand metaphor was better.
05:36 – The techniques in ACT can be broadly categorised as follows:
- Mindfulness
- Acceptance
- Values Based Living
