Anxiety is something that we all have experienced at times, and it is quite a normal part of life. In fact, anxiety helps us deal with danger or threatening situations better. However, not all anxiety is normal or healthy. People with anxiety disorder experience frequent worry and fear about everyday situations that can hamper their daily functioning.
Acceptance and commitment therapy or ACT is a form of psychotherapy with the goal of reducing psychological distress. It helps you learn to accept reality without any judgment and take appropriate action based on your values rather than fear.
In this blog, we will help you understand how ACT therapy can help you overcome anxiety.
Understanding Anxiety
In simple words, anxiety is the emotion we all experience when we face a situation that is considered as threatening or dangerous. Feeling fear, worry, or uneasiness are some of the characteristics of anxiety. When this feeling is constant, it becomes a mental health condition called anxiety disorder.
What Causes Anxiety Disorder?
Similar to many other mental health disorders, the exact cause of anxiety disorder isn’t well known. However, researchers believe multiple factors such as genetics, imbalance in neurotransmitters (brain chemistry), environmental factors, or existing medical conditions can increase the risks of one developing anxiety disorder.
Types of Anxiety Disorder
There are different types of anxiety disorders characterized by specific symptoms and signs. Some of the common types of anxiety disorders are: –
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): The condition causes constant unrealistic fear or worry about everyday life. For example, work responsibility, physical health, etc.
Agoraphobia: This is a type of anxiety disorder that can make you frightened, forcing you to avoid certain places or situations that may cause panic attacks or make you feel trapped.
Panic Disorder: It is one of the most well-known forms of anxiety disorder wherein you experience repeated episodes of intense fear which can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, racing heartbeat, etc.
Social Anxiety Disorder: As the name suggests, it is a condition that makes one anxious and frightened about social gatherings due to feelings of embarrassment, self-consciousness, or fear of being viewed negatively by others.
Separation Anxiety Disorder: This is a condition that occurs especially when you are separated from your loved ones. The fear of separation can be intense to a level where it can hamper daily life.
What is ACT Therapy?
Acceptance and commitment therapy or ACT therapy is one of the widely recognized evidence-backed forms of psychotherapy that mainly focuses on increasing your psychological flexibility to promote behavioral changes.
ACT Therapy helps you learn to accept thoughts and feelings and face challenges rather than avoiding them. This way ACT therapy aims to create a meaningful life for you despite the challenging circumstances.
The key principles of ACT Therapy are: –
Mindfulness: This helps you learn the art of being in the present.
Acceptance: Developing an ability in you to accept your feelings or thoughts, irrespective of whether it’s pleasant or not.
Cognitive Defusion: It creates some distance or separates you from your thoughts which allows you to observe thoughts as mere thoughts and not reality.
Self as Context: This helps people learn and understand that their thought is a different entity from their sense of self which allows them to see themselves as the observer of their thoughts rather than being defined by them.
Values: Values in ACT therapy mean identifying personal values and what truly matters to you and aligning your life with these values.
Commitment Action: It is the final element of ACT therapy wherein you not only identify personal values but also take proactive steps to pursue these values in life.
How does ACT Therapy help with Anxiety?
One of the many causes of anxiety is our thoughts, how we perceive them and how we respond to them. By accepting thoughts and feelings as normal parts of our lives, understanding how to separate ourselves from these thoughts, and learning techniques such as mindfulness can reduce the impact of anxiety.
All the core principles of ACT therapy teach how we can successfully develop these abilities which- as a result help us manage our anxious mind, reduce the symptoms, and lead us to a fulfilling life.
Conclusion
Life can indeed be tough with its myriad challenges, and it can often put us in situations that can make us anxious. However, with techniques such as mindfulness and acceptance, we can manage our anxious minds, preventing them from developing into anxiety disorders.
