EA - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) 101 by Evie Cottrell

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) 101, published by Evie Cottrell on September 24, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. ACT = Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (pronounced as the word ‘act’ rather than the letters) CBT = Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Summary I have found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) much more useful as a framework than other types of CBT. Traditional CBT focuses on helping you identify and change negative thoughts, whereas ACT focuses on accepting them. It holds that fighting against your emotions usually just leads to being stuck in them. Other types of CBT often ask “is this thought true?” to encourage behaviour change, whereas ACT uses values to encourage behaviour change (explained better in the full text). ACT could be a good fit for people who are especially values-driven. ACT has a strong focus on values and mindfulness. Other key ideas: Psychological flexibility: being in contact with the present moment, fully aware of emotions, and thoughts, welcoming them, including the undesired ones, and moving in a pattern of behaviour in the service of chosen values; Encouraging gentle curiosity towards thoughts, feelings, and sensations, instead of trying to change them; The normal thinking process of a healthy human mind will naturally lead to psychological suffering. We have not evolved to be happy, and we are not deficient for experiencing difficult thoughts and feelings; The goal isn’t to chase happiness or otherwise try and control our internal state. The six principles of ACT: Learning the skill of defusing your thoughts and feelings, so they have much less influence over you; Making room for unpleasant feelings instead of trying to push them away (expansion); Connecting with whatever you’re doing or experiencing in the present moment; Becoming familiar with the "observing self," the part of you that experiences, sees, touches, and doesn't judge or take responsibility; Clarifying and connecting with your values; Taking action motivated by your values. This leads to a formula of: Mindfulness + Values + Committed Action = Psychological Flexibility If you’d like to learn more, I recommend reading the book The Happiness Trap, or this book summary of it, or watching this Tedx talk. If you want to engage more seriously, I'd really recommend seeking a therapist who practises ACT. Introduction I started exploring ACT about a month ago, and have found it has significantly increased my mental wellbeing. ACT has been much more powerful and effective for me than other types of CBT I have tried in the past (however, I have engaged with ACT to a deeper level – but this is mostly because it felt exciting and helpful from the beginning). I haven't heard EAs talk about it publicly before, and wanted to encourage others to explore it as a framework, if any of it resonates. I have been enthusing to friends about ACT, and I’m also writing this to be able to refer people to in future. My goal here isn't to provide a guide for How To Live According To ACT. It's to offer a brief taster, so that if the ACT framework seems like it could be helpful, you can learn more elsewhere. Some benefits I’ve experienced Struggling against my internal experience less – and instead approaching it with compassion and acceptance; More ability to be present with my experience in the moment, by developing the ability to notice when I’m “hooked” on a string of thoughts, and skills to reconnect with the present moment; Less self-criticism and more self-compassion (in a way that feels non-coercive and authentic); More accepting of the fact that it’s normal to have difficult thoughts and feelings – I’m not bad or deficient for experiencing them; More clarity on my values and how I want to treat myself; Feeling more empowered and less hopeless around mental health. How is ACT...