We are presently facilitating a mindfulness group at Grounded for Peace. The group’s purpose is to supplement clients receiving Acceptance and Commitment therapy. The group is also useful to those who want an introduction to ACT. (A good description of ACT can be found on Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy. )

ACT stems from traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy but differs in a few ways. One of the main differences that stands out to me is that it is less judgemental. Many models of CBT label thoughts as “positive” and “negative”, which many will interpret as good or bad. Many people receiving therapy will then take it a step further and say “I am having a negative thought therefore I am negative.” CBT would then challenge and rewrite this thought of “I am a negative person”. However, ACT will bypass this all together by not labeling a thought or feeling as “positive” or “negative” but will ask is this thought/feeling moving you towards your values or away?

This brings us to the mindfulness part. In order to not get “hooked” or “fused” with the thought or feeling, ACT teaches to take a step back and observe the thought or feeling as something one is observing and not as something that they is their identity or as something intrinsically a part of them. This sounds like an easy task but if it were easy most of us would not feel the need to seek out therapy. Mindfulness practices/training teaches us how to take a step back so we don’t fuse/get hooked by a thought.

The word “practice” is used many times in reference to Mindfulness skills b/c it really does take practice. The following practice illustrates not only how to do a particular mindfulness practice, but it also illustrates how to use the practice for a purpose of helping a person to not fuse with an experience, or in other terms, help a person get through a difficult feeling, sensation, or thought and move past it.

Choose one of the following to do:

Part one:

1.Stand on one leg.

2.Focus on a point on a wall in front of you

3.Hold your arm out in front of you.

Part two:

Breath in through your nose, imagining a wave coming on to the shore.

Breath out through your nose, imagining a wave rolling back into the ocean.

Continue with smooth and method inhales and exhales like the ones described above.

Part three:

When the sensation develops where you want to stop standing on one leg, place your arm down or stop looking at the spot on the wall, try to continue the breathing till you move past the sensation a bit more. The idea is not to hurt yourself so we don’t plan to do this too long but just enough to remind ourselves that we can do hard things.

Additional Thoughts:

Finding practices that hold the space to be in a difficult sensation help us hold the space when we are faced with a difficult experience. By staying with the difficult experience we are able to look at it more clearly so we can decide what we want to do about it. A normal response to something difficult is to avoid it or stop it right away. This is not always healthy. Take for example anxiety before a test. If I don’t like the anxiety and try to distract myself with a video game or doom scrolling, I waste time and end up not getting in the studying I might need to do to pass the test. If I were to practice this breathing skill, I hold the space for the anxiety and look at what the anxiety is telling me to do, which is to prepare. When I face it and see it for what it is ,a message, I then see it as not something to avoid but as something to get my attention and take action. Once you get the message of a difficult feeling many times it will start to dissolve.

For a guided recording of the practice above subscribe to our bonus content.

If you would like to join the mindfulness group, please contact us through our contact page.