Sharing from a workbook on mental health called “Get Our of Your Head and Into Your Life. It is by Steven C. Hayes, PH.D. He feels this will help you live in the here and now. Our thoughts and emotions take us away from living in the present time. He bases everything by a method called “ACT.” Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Like how he says, “fighting for your life is not the same as living your life.”
Hopefully, this will help you change your perspective and how you manage your own experiences. Here are some examples: You don’t have to identify with your suffering. Pain and suffering are two different things. Psychological pain is normal, it is important, and everyone has it. He also adds that you can live a life you value, right now but, you have to get out of your head and into your life.
This method is comprised of three areas. First is mindfulness. You observe your experiences. You’re evaluating things as if your another person viewing what is happening. It is like you’re seeing it through someone else’s eyes. You are detaching yourself from the experience. He talks about how your thoughts such as I’m depressed as an illusion. Why? Because you are viewing things only one way.
Second part of this method is acceptance. Our internal lives are not the same as our external events. Dr. Hayes feels that as humans we live in history, and time moves in only one direction, not two. Getting rid of pain only amplifies which makes it difficult to escape. Acceptance means acknowledging it, but, then moving forward in life.
Third part is commitment and values-based living. Are you focused on the most meaningful things to you? When you don’t have positive focus, you tend to put your life on pause. Your dreams can only come true if you will be in the here and now. You know how when driving down the road and there is a roadblock, and you can’t get through, your mind can feel like there is a trap and you can’t get out.
