Hi again,
Welcome to part 3 of my Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) series which explores the role of Mindfulness in ACT. Now, before I get into that, you might recognize the concept of Mindfulness. It’s gained a lot of popularity in recent decades and has been a favorite of mental health professionals for some time now. Since some of you may not have heard of it, or you have but have some preconceived notions about it, I’ll take most of this post to explain it before connecting it to ACT.
Mindfulness, at its core, is about contacting the present moment on purpose without judgment. There are three big ideas baked into that. First is the idea of the present moment. That is the here and now. It’s all the things going on around you, like sights and sounds, but it’s also the thoughts and feelings you are having right this very moment too. The judgement piece is about experiencing all those things in the present without evaluating them. You hear the sounds and think your thoughts without getting consumed by them. You just recognize them for what they are. Finally, the on-purpose portion is straightforward; mindfulness is done on purpose rather than accidentally.
Some people get the idea that Mindfulness is just meditation. It absolutely can be used in meditation and many people do so. However, mindfulness can be done in much smaller chunks without needing to take 30 minutes sitting in one pose. All you have to do is focus on the here and now rather than stressing about work tomorrow or that thing you forgot yesterday. Since Mindfulness is about contacting the present moment, simply becoming aware that you weren’t being mindful is being mindful. Noticing how something makes you feel is being mindful.
If you’ve read the last couple of posts, you may have some guesses about how this pertains to ACT. Using a mindful approach with your feelings helps you accept them because you are simply being aware of them without judgement. You can recognize your anger as an experience without feeling like it overpowers you. Mindful awareness can help you distance yourself from rigid thinking that takes over your mind by focusing on the here and now rather than letting yourself get lost in those thought cycles that keep you awake till 3am. Mindfulness is one tool that helps you live in your life rather than your head.
Getting in contact with the here and now is a big step to the fifth part of ACT I’ll be telling you about. However, we will be taking a minor detour in the next post with part four. Keep an eye out for it.
-Travis