Before you do this I would recommend that you have an understanding of coping with New Year’s resolutions. That is, before you make one really make an attempt to see why and understand in your heart why you are doing this. Then make an action plan as to specifically how you are going to do this. After that, look at what the barriers are going to be that will get in the way. if your resolution is to go on a diet or stop smoking, as examples, try these suggestions. Make a list of these. In ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy terminology we are talking about Values and willingness to go after what you want even if it means you could get to be...
Learn MoreI am going to drew in from ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) and Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT) some ways of coping with the Holiday blues. Let’s start on the emotional side. The blues may be from sadness you feel. Or perhaps struggling not to feel so much of the pain from sadness. But what happens to you when you try to ignore, distract or avoid these feelings? They are going to still pester you and often be at the forefront of your mind. If you were able to practice what ACT espouses to: allowing in painful emotions and sensations without struggling with them. This is often not an easy task and if too difficult you may want to consult a therapist who practices ACT and or CBT to be of help to you. So when you feeling sad because you think others are happy during the holidays and you are not, or sad because the holidays are associated with the lost of somebody, or sad because you are alone, as painful as it is it may be helpful to not struggle with the sadness. On the thinking end of the issues that can up you may need to use CBT and or ACT to deal with them. If you...
Learn MoreHow do you stop being so self critical? If you find yourself being self critical you could ask yourself is this the first time in your life that you are being this way. Most likely the answer is that you have been like this perhaps countless times. You may consider labeling that self criticism as a “story” that comes up often in your mind. You may even notice that you have been telling yourself this “story” since childhood. Then the question is has buying into that story been helpful? Has it gotten you closer to where you want to be going? If there answer is no you can tell name that story: “there is my self blaming story”. You might be able to detach yourself from this...
Learn MoreA part of treating Depression is looking at the negative self thoughts that are active during depression and using either CBT (Cognitive Behavioral therapy) or ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) to deal with them. For example when depressed you may have thoughts that it is all your fault someone is upset with you; you are a failure, you are worthless or you are inadequate. If using ACT and have any of these thoughts the first thing you may want to ask yourself is getting hooked to the thought helpful? In using CBT you want try to use a technique like looking at the evidence to support the belief and evidence against it. If you are reading this and are depressed you should seek the help of a mental health...
Learn MoreWatching your thoughts instead of being rapt up with them could be a way to reduce stress. To me what it means is to be able to observe your thoughts like you may observe your breathing when meditating. When I first was learning ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy) One technique that was described was to tell yourself I am having the thought that…”. This would be the way to do it in the purest way to observe your thoughts. There are plenty of other techniques that you can use to achieve distance from your thinking. It might also be helpful to step back from neutral and positive are real important to help you in your journey of stepping back from...
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