Mastering the Paradox of Acceptance and Change With Anxiety- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Very useful.

I found your channel last week.. and my goodness you have taught me so much already! Also, helped become more calm with my thoughts, more mentally honest with myself, & less emotionally reactive. Thank you!

My work management is my anxiety trigger. This will be a challenge but I'm willing to give it a try.

This is such a powerful topic and video (and I’ve also enjoyed watching your other videos). One of the most difficult aspects of life (I thought it was my own epiphany haha) is our desire to be able to take calm, clear action to move our lives forward in positive ways, (what I would call a very clean emotional state) while often feeling stuck and tied to old emotions. We don’t want the latter but also sometimes intuitively know there’s value and even a place of self love and care underlying them. Anyhoo, that said, thanks for this video.

Nice woman, but I want to sht off and leave when a therapist or other professional speaker talks privately-personally. I feel unsafe, but above all, my strong CO-Dependent helper compulsion activates and I think more of her than myself and can't concentrate. . And I have to think about me now. And trust her less becausee exposing me to herself. I don't find that therapeutic or professional, , even though she does it woth self-distance. I wonder whether she does it in her Anxiety course too? Possibly not. Idk what to do, maybe skip a bit and see if she stopped telling her own things. Thank you any way, appreciate some other videos,the one about anxiety and the brain functions.

wow , great video

thanks. good details

Novel ACT Protocol from neuroscience

Procedure: Consistent and periodic alternation between a resting protocol (e.g. mindfulness) and the pursuit of meaningful behavior will increase motivation and positive affect (arousal and pleasure), and by making meaningful ideation more emotionally salient, will crowd out thoughts leading to anxiety and depression. This can also be denoted semantically by the conjunction of an indifference to but not avoidance of negative ideation (through the inhibition of discursive thought or ‘mind wandering’) in mindfulness with an awareness or ‘commitment’ to meaningful behavior and the values it represents, thus corresponding to ‘acceptance and commitment’ in psychotherapeutic procedure.

Explanation: Resting elicits opioid activity, or feels pleasurable, and meaningful behavior, as defined as behavior that has branching novel and positive outcomes (writing that great novel or just making the bed) elicits dopamine activity which causes arousal. The awareness of subsequent meaningful behavior while engaging in relaxation protocols such as mindfulness elicits a ‘priming’ response, namely dopamine release that increases opioid activity, and vice versa, making meaningful behavior seem self-reinforcing or ‘autotelic’. with cognition less likely to transition to perseverative thought (worry, regret, distraction). Although mindfulness reduces discursive thought or mind wandering that can lead to negative ideation; it does not inhibit concurrent non-conscious awareness or anticipation of behavior or events subsequent to meditation that can in turn shape or ‘prime’ affective responses during a meditative session. A priming response, like the salivary response that precedes food or the sexual arousal that precedes intimacy, is a preparatory response that often occurs non-consciously, and changes the affective value or ‘feeling’ in the moment. Similarly, relaxing due to ‘being in the moment’ is pleasurable, but if we were told to expect ‘bad’ news or ‘good’ news in the near future, just the awareness of future events is enough to depress or elevate our feelings, but not altering in the slightest our ‘mindful’ or relaxed state. It follows that if mindfulness is paired with the awareness of subsequent positive or meaningful behavior, then rest in mindfulness will have a greater affective tone or ‘feel better’ than if such a prospect was absent. This is perhaps why ‘savoring’, ‘loving kindness’ meditation, and ‘flow’ experiences represent highly pleasurable and arousing experiences, as they make future positive ideation contingent to obvious or subtle pleasures (from relaxation, eating, drinking) and contrast with a lower level of pleasure during typical states of rest that generally precede a return to meaningless discursive thinking. It also explains the efficacy of popular psychotherapeutic interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, that conjoins the awareness and pursuit of meaningful behavior with mindful or meditative states.

From ‘Galileo’s Lament and the Collapse of the Social Sciences’ on scribd

Seems like there's a connection with sense of self, identity, purpose, and capability?
I've noticed in my struggle with intense anxiety from a traumatic experience, it seems the risk assessment in my brain got thrown off? It seems giving up on myself and completely loosing my sense of control basically told my brain that giving up and avoiding is more worth it than facing and challenging the issue.
It would also seem that maybe regaining a sense of identity, hope, and capability and making your hopes and dreams bigger than your anxiety and trauma may help?
Still struggling myself but it's sort of how I made sense of it (not an easy struggle for sure).
I think the biggest struggle is knowing what to "accept" and what to reprocess..

I went to Al-Anon, let go let God, awesome program! Accept don't expect....

Your information Rocks! I can't exercise due to bad hips,I'm stuck!

Most relatable intro ever.

What does "living your values" mean?

What do you get when you combine asleep with genius?

The problem isn't the emotions for me, it's the pain that the stress has caused. Am I unusual in this way? It seems that no one else is really dealing with this. It is horrible.

How am I supposed to accept PAIN!!!??? This is so hard. I am being tormented by this pain and the only thing I can't seem to be able to do is relax and accept which is the only way to get better. This is hell in life. God please save me from myself. I am begging you.

"This life was not made to please you. It was made to challenge you. Don't consider challenges as problems. Just accept the present moment as it is, as if you have chosen it. When life challenges you, your consciousness gets stronger. Just watch your feelings come and go, and notice how thought creates negative emotions that doesn't exist in the real world. When we root in the present moment, we begin to grow and discover our real self". Eckhart Tolle

This is so true but in case of anxiety so counter intuitive at the same time. I had a few days with strong anxiety and panic attacks and was quite desperate about it but this trust and willingness was so key to finally resolve it again! Thank you :)

Acceptance is not Resignation. This changed my perspective.

You are a blessing, Emma. I love the way you explain things to reach out to all of us. I appreciate how brave you are, sharing your stories and all the knowledge and wisdom you have acquired yourself so that we can also live better lives.
Love,
Lina

Coming to terms with the season at hand helps. Acceptance really does take all that weight off.

Whenever I am having a panic attack, I turn on your videos and fall asleep. You have such a soothing voice and whenever I wake up I feel instantly healed! Thank you for doing the things you do! Now to rewatch them all while Im awake so I can actually hear the message! LOL.

Thank you, for the inspiration!

This sounds a bit like alcoholism, trying to suppress emotions doesnt work. When you can accept and deal with some crappy emotion, then you dont need the alcohol to suppress them. Same goes for anxiety. Getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable is not easy though.

Very good, thanks for this. Appreciate you.

So good! I will bring myself back to the line of scrimmage each time... acknowledge the emotion / anxiety, and then move frwd... this imaginary line will be so helpful for me in my Acceptance journey! TY Emma! 🙏🏻

Thanks

I’ve always wished a different term was used for this. It lead to a lot of misunderstandings for me when I was struggling.

It is my birthday today i wake up early and went out to the beach for walking i found your video I would like to thank you sooo much from Jeddah saudia arabia

thank you for investing in my work and life

Thank you

Your advice helps. Thank you. ❤

Thank you so much your videos help me immensely 😌

Check out the Welcoming Practice from The Greatest Secret by Rhonda Byrne 💯

You called it. Confusing.

I appreciate you 🫶🏼

Do you take new clients?

Over these past few weeks, I have been struggling with severe anxiety more so than I ever have before in my life. I already knew about your channel before so I watched your other various vids about how to deal with anxiety and they have honestly been a life changer so far! Thank you so much for the help and all that you do to help people with mental health issues. I wish you and your family the best in life ❤ thank you!!

LOL The world IS flat!

Hi Emma. The best advice I ever heard on anxiety is exactly what you mean when you say "acceptance." When anxiety comes in, when it shows up, I'm supposed to say, "Oh, hi anxiety. You're here again. eh? Well, stay as long as you like." The advice was, don't resist the anxiety. Instead, welcome it like an old friend (haha), and let it stay "as long as it likes." Then, if you do this, you will notice, the anxiety does go away. Also, as you say, "be willing to feel your feelings" is excellent advice. Thank you very much, Emma and all the listeners. You do great work! --Jack

This was so helpful ❤

Wow, thank you!

I've been in therapy for a year and a half doing ACT... And I just learned more in this 16 min video... Lmao
JK...kinda...This did really help it sink in though and a more practical explanation. Thank you

Wow! Great video you read my mind!

My anxiety gets so severe, like being on fire, that acceptance is extremely difficult to do. I do take medicine but I know that isn't enough, but I'm so fatigued that I feel like I can't function and that I have personality disintegration, because one minute I feel one way and the next another way which is horrible. I like to think that I still have a chance to get better, I'm pushing 60, but the last two years since my mom died have been anxiety and depression hell.

I've been to so many therapists and never received this advice. I have always tried to fight anxiety and it has never worked. This is a game changer.!!!