"In your pain you find your values, and in your values you find your pain"
...There cannot be right or wrong values because, by definition, your values are how you are evaluating your own behavior. Values are the ruler. ...Feelings are not good guides for behavior...If you chose to be a loving partner but decide to be loving only when feelings of love for your partner were present, what would happen? You probably would be a pretty terrible partner. Part of being a partner is showing up when things are decidedly not pleasant, when feelings of love ar
The Unwelcome Party Guest
Some of the comments posted to this video are funny. One of my favourites is, "Yep, lock the door and he comes through the window, lock the window and he jumps the fence..." It's funny because it's true! The video is titled as an ACT metaphor though it may not be clear. Controlling Brian is a metaphor for controlling unwanted thoughts and feelings. That struggle for control will inevitably fail. Brian is a window-climbing, fence-jumping, determined creature. The struggle to
The Catch-All Nature of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Steven Hayes, one of the founders of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) explains how understanding the processes of psychological flexibility which ACT targets, is important outside the therapeutic setting: "anywhere that a human mind goes, these processes go." #acceptanceandcommitmenttherapyact
A Therapy for Willingness
The "acceptance" in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is not about condoning mistreatment; it isn't about resignation; it isn't about wallowing: acceptance is about openness to experience. Acceptance is about being willing to experience ourselves fully, to experience pleasure and pain so that censoring our thoughts and emotions does not take away from investing energy and effort in value-driven action. #acceptanceandcommitmenttherapyact #suppressingthoughtsandfeelings