I have been enjoying exploring a new psychotherapy. It's called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I have found it to be the most useful psychological therapy I have come across. After delving deeply into it I think it is because it is a middle way type of therapy. To me it has a Yin side and a Yang side to it. The picture poems below show a little of why I feel this way.
Yin-Vibes = poem for acceptance
I really enjoyed reading 'The Happiness Trap' by Russ Harris. A large part of the book was about accepting difficult emotions.
Acceptance is more than just the Yin-vibes I include in my picture poem, but for me they were a good place to start. Really accepting the dark places deep in my soul, the hurt, the pain, the sadness, the helpless feelings, vulnerability, fears, anxiety, failure, rejection, loneliness, death, anything and everything I find negative, can be very liberating. It's like you are giving up the struggle against your innermost feelings and can really open up to new challenges and positive experiences.
Yang-Vibes = poem for commitment
My Yang poem is about opening up to new challenges and postive experiences. It's positive psychology but because it's Yang there is also anger and attempts to control in there as well.
I think ACT is a big step up from plain old positive-psychology because of the bigger emphasis on Acceptance, which is a kind of negative-psychology technique. I feel we live in a Yang oriented world and connecting to my Yin side, however I manage to do it, has been very important to me over the years, helping to keep me healthy and sane through everything life has thrown at me.
The Middle Way = Poem for ACT
In my middle way poem I bring the Yin and Yang concepts together. Maybe ACT is about accepting negative feelings and committing to positive actions. It's about bringing things on and letting things go. It's about the balance between extremes.
I really like ACT because it isn't a religion or a philosophy, it's a useful therapy that could help and heal anyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment