Think of your mind as a background against which mental events occur. They are observed by you but they aren’t you. So instead of thinking ‘I’m anxious’ you would think ‘I’m having the experience of anxiety.’
I have not tried the ACT method but it reminds of a trick that is similar to it, for overcoming negative emotional states. Although I have not yet put this into regular practice, I recently tried to decrease my anxiety and related emotional states by imagining observing my character in a game. My character in his open sand box world reality might be embarrassed or anxious, but the observer is not. When I do this I feel as the observer I am mindful of my character’s state of mind which might be in terrible anxiety, yet the observer is calm.
I am very intrigued with ACT as you presented it here and will try it. Thanks for sharing.
“”Another example of learned helplessness in social settings involves loneliness and shyness. Those who are extremely shy, passive, anxious and depressed may learn helplessness to offer stable explanations for unpleasant social experiences. However, Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, resulting in a situation that reinforces the problematic thinking. A third example is aging, when some older people may respond to the deaths of friends and family members, the loss of jobs and income, and the development of age-related health problems by neglecting their medical care needs.[36]
Social problems resulting from learned helplessness may seem unavoidable; however, when induced in experimental settings learned helplessness resolves with the passage of time.[37] Learned helplessness in response to experiences can be prevented or minimized by “immunization” and, when present, may be reversed by therapy. People can be immunized against the perception that events are uncontrollable by increasing their awareness of previous experiences, when they were able to effect a desired outcome.[38] Therapy can instruct people in the fact of contingency[39] and bolster people’s self esteem.[40]”″
-Wikipedia
I have not tried the ACT method but it reminds of a trick that is similar to it, for overcoming negative emotional states. Although I have not yet put this into regular practice, I recently tried to decrease my anxiety and related emotional states by imagining observing my character in a game. My character in his open sand box world reality might be embarrassed or anxious, but the observer is not. When I do this I feel as the observer I am mindful of my character’s state of mind which might be in terrible anxiety, yet the observer is calm.
I am very intrigued with ACT as you presented it here and will try it. Thanks for sharing.
“”Another example of learned helplessness in social settings involves loneliness and shyness. Those who are extremely shy, passive, anxious and depressed may learn helplessness to offer stable explanations for unpleasant social experiences. However, Gotlib and Beatty (1985) found that people who cite helplessness in social settings may be viewed poorly by others, resulting in a situation that reinforces the problematic thinking. A third example is aging, when some older people may respond to the deaths of friends and family members, the loss of jobs and income, and the development of age-related health problems by neglecting their medical care needs.[36]
Social problems resulting from learned helplessness may seem unavoidable; however, when induced in experimental settings learned helplessness resolves with the passage of time.[37] Learned helplessness in response to experiences can be prevented or minimized by “immunization” and, when present, may be reversed by therapy. People can be immunized against the perception that events are uncontrollable by increasing their awareness of previous experiences, when they were able to effect a desired outcome.[38] Therapy can instruct people in the fact of contingency[39] and bolster people’s self esteem.[40]”″ -Wikipedia