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A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters
"In all my years studying personal growth, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is one of the most useful tools I've ever come across, and in this book, Dr. Hayes describes it with more depth and clarity than ever before."-Mark Manson, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
Life is not a problem to be solved. ACT shows how we can live full and meaningful lives by embracing our vulnerability and turning toward what hurts.
In this landmark book, the originator and pioneering researcher into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) lays out the psychological flexibility skills that make it one of the most powerful approaches research has yet to offer. These skills have been shown to help even where other approaches have failed. Science shows that they are useful in virtually every area--mental health (anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD); physical health (chronic pain, dealing with diabetes, facing cancer); social processes (relationship issues, prejudice, stigma, domestic violence); and performance (sports, business, diet, exercise).
How does psychological flexibility help? We struggle because the problem-solving mind tells us to run from what causes us fear and hurt. But we hurt where we care. If we run from a sense of vulnerability, we must also run from what we care about. By learning how to liberate ourselves, we can live with meaning and purpose, along with our pain when there is pain.
Although that is a simple idea, it resists our instincts and programming. The flexibility skills counter those ingrained tendencies. They include noticing our thoughts with curiosity, opening to our emotions, attending to what is in the present, learning the art of perspective taking, discovering our deepest values, and building habits based around what we deeply want.
Beginning with the epiphany Steven Hayes had during a panic attack, this book is a powerful narrative of scientific discovery filled with moving stories as well as advice for how we can put flexibility skills to work immediately. Hayes shows how allowing ourselves to feel fully and think freely moves us toward commitment to what truly matters to us. Finally, we can live lives that reflect the qualities we choose.
Life is not a problem to be solved. ACT shows how we can live full and meaningful lives by embracing our vulnerability and turning toward what hurts.
In this landmark book, the originator and pioneering researcher into Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) lays out the psychological flexibility skills that make it one of the most powerful approaches research has yet to offer. These skills have been shown to help even where other approaches have failed. Science shows that they are useful in virtually every area--mental health (anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD); physical health (chronic pain, dealing with diabetes, facing cancer); social processes (relationship issues, prejudice, stigma, domestic violence); and performance (sports, business, diet, exercise).
How does psychological flexibility help? We struggle because the problem-solving mind tells us to run from what causes us fear and hurt. But we hurt where we care. If we run from a sense of vulnerability, we must also run from what we care about. By learning how to liberate ourselves, we can live with meaning and purpose, along with our pain when there is pain.
Although that is a simple idea, it resists our instincts and programming. The flexibility skills counter those ingrained tendencies. They include noticing our thoughts with curiosity, opening to our emotions, attending to what is in the present, learning the art of perspective taking, discovering our deepest values, and building habits based around what we deeply want.
Beginning with the epiphany Steven Hayes had during a panic attack, this book is a powerful narrative of scientific discovery filled with moving stories as well as advice for how we can put flexibility skills to work immediately. Hayes shows how allowing ourselves to feel fully and think freely moves us toward commitment to what truly matters to us. Finally, we can live lives that reflect the qualities we choose.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2019
About the author
Steven C. Hayes
136 books329 followersSteven C. Hayes, PhD, is Nevada Foundation Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of thirty-four books and more than 470 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and cofounded ACT, a powerful therapy method that is useful in a wide variety of areas. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.
He runs the leading Ph.D program in Behavior Analysis, and coined the term Clinical Behavior Analysis. He is known for devising a behavior analysis of human language and cognition called Relational Frame Theory, and its clinical application to various psychological difficulties, such as anxiety.
Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (now known as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the American Psychological Society (now known as the Association for Psychological Science), which he helped form.
Hayes' work is somewhat controversial, particularly with his coined term "Relational Frame Theory" to describe stimulus equivalent research in relation to an elaborate form of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (also referred to as verbal operants).
An author of 38 books and 550 articles, in 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th "highest impact" psychologist in the world during 1986-1990 based on the citation impact of his writings during that period.
According to Time columnist John Cloud, "Steven Hayes is at the top of his field. A past president of the distinguished Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, he has written or co-written some 300 peer-reviewed articles and 27 books. Few psychologists are so well published".
He runs the leading Ph.D program in Behavior Analysis, and coined the term Clinical Behavior Analysis. He is known for devising a behavior analysis of human language and cognition called Relational Frame Theory, and its clinical application to various psychological difficulties, such as anxiety.
Hayes has been President of Division 25 of the American Psychological Association, of the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology, the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (now known as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), and the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. He was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the American Psychological Society (now known as the Association for Psychological Science), which he helped form.
Hayes' work is somewhat controversial, particularly with his coined term "Relational Frame Theory" to describe stimulus equivalent research in relation to an elaborate form of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (also referred to as verbal operants).
An author of 38 books and 550 articles, in 1992 he was listed by the Institute for Scientific Information as the 30th "highest impact" psychologist in the world during 1986-1990 based on the citation impact of his writings during that period.
According to Time columnist John Cloud, "Steven Hayes is at the top of his field. A past president of the distinguished Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, he has written or co-written some 300 peer-reviewed articles and 27 books. Few psychologists are so well published".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews
October 19, 2019
I do not like how this book was written, but I really like the content. The book had too much self-promotion and what seemed like advertisements for this program. The ACT program is really pretty simple and he lays it out clearly and then there is a lot of superfluous content. But in general, it's a helpful book for anyone that experiences anxiety or depression.
September 15, 2019
Great book.
I’m sad to report that I don’t have time to write a full review of this.
Hopefully I can get to it later and give it the review it deserves.
But in the meantime.
It’s great.
Steven C. Hayes is my science hero.
Get the book.
I’m sad to report that I don’t have time to write a full review of this.
Hopefully I can get to it later and give it the review it deserves.
But in the meantime.
It’s great.
Steven C. Hayes is my science hero.
Get the book.
September 4, 2019
Summary: An introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a psychological counseling approach that develops psychological flexibility through learning acceptance rather than resistance or flight from painful thoughts and reality, and how we may pivot toward commitments rooted in what we value most deeply.
Steven C. Hayes proposes we all have a Dictator Within. We all have thoughts that cause us problems. We try not to think about pink elephants, painful experiences, messages that tell us all sorts of negative things about ourselves, or that raise our anxieties. We try to argue with those thoughts or avoid them or get rid of them, often in inflexible ruts where we go round and round with little success. At very least, we struggle with lack of peace of mind. At worst, these ways of thinking hamstring the way we live and the relationships we form.
Hayes, one of the pioneers of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) proposes a very different approach. He describes an approach that begins with acceptance of our thoughts. He proposes that one of the things that defuses the power of our thoughts is simply to stop trying to get rid of them and notice them. There is a sense that we step outside these mental processes and take perspective. And it means acceptance of the painful and approaching that pain with curiosity and openness where our goal no longer is feeling GOOD but FEELING good.
Moving from Acceptance to Commitment we learn the practice of presence, of living in the now, the present rather than a painful past or a yearned for future. We identify what we value and then identify actions to which we may commit that support our values.
After tracing the development of this approach in Part 1 and the idea of developing psychological flexibility rather than rigidity through crucial pivots in our lives, in Part 2, he describes the six pivots in greater depth:
1. Defusion--Putting the Mind on a Leash
2. Self--The Art of Perspective Taking
3. Acceptance--Learning from Pain
4. Presence--Living in the Now
5. Values--Caring by Choice
6. Action--Committing to Change
He devotes a chapter to each, sharing, and even walking us through exercises for each pivot.
In Part 3, Hayes applies ACT principles to a variety of aspects of life including healthy behaviors, mental health, nurturing relationships, various types of performance, including sports performance, spiritual well-being, and coping with illness. Here and elsewhere Hayes cites studies showing the superior effectiveness of ACT to other counseling approaches.
I cannot assess his claims. I do have two criticisms. One is how often he repeats the claim of the superiority of this approach, to a point that I found tiresome. The second is that there seemed to be an inadequate "cutting room floor" and I felt that at times, his central ideas and arguments were obscured by excessive verbiage.
Nevertheless, the ideas of acceptance, of defusing, of perspective-taking, of becoming attentive and curious, even about pain, are at the heart of contemplative spirituality that has been helpful to many. To couple this with learning to be present and to live in the now, and to allow our values to shape our commitments seem to reflect the wisdom of many approaches toward transformation. I appreciated Hayes receptiveness to religious faith and an approach that recognized the complementary character of his therapeutic approach and the formational practices in religious traditions.
Perhaps the founder of this approach may be forgiven what I criticized as excesses. He's talking about his baby! What is evident throughout the pages of this book is the author's personal embrace and passion for ACT principles, his extensive clinical practice, and the deep care he has for clients and for seeing people flourish in their lives through applying the psychological flexibility skills he teaches in this work.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Steven C. Hayes proposes we all have a Dictator Within. We all have thoughts that cause us problems. We try not to think about pink elephants, painful experiences, messages that tell us all sorts of negative things about ourselves, or that raise our anxieties. We try to argue with those thoughts or avoid them or get rid of them, often in inflexible ruts where we go round and round with little success. At very least, we struggle with lack of peace of mind. At worst, these ways of thinking hamstring the way we live and the relationships we form.
Hayes, one of the pioneers of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) proposes a very different approach. He describes an approach that begins with acceptance of our thoughts. He proposes that one of the things that defuses the power of our thoughts is simply to stop trying to get rid of them and notice them. There is a sense that we step outside these mental processes and take perspective. And it means acceptance of the painful and approaching that pain with curiosity and openness where our goal no longer is feeling GOOD but FEELING good.
Moving from Acceptance to Commitment we learn the practice of presence, of living in the now, the present rather than a painful past or a yearned for future. We identify what we value and then identify actions to which we may commit that support our values.
After tracing the development of this approach in Part 1 and the idea of developing psychological flexibility rather than rigidity through crucial pivots in our lives, in Part 2, he describes the six pivots in greater depth:
1. Defusion--Putting the Mind on a Leash
2. Self--The Art of Perspective Taking
3. Acceptance--Learning from Pain
4. Presence--Living in the Now
5. Values--Caring by Choice
6. Action--Committing to Change
He devotes a chapter to each, sharing, and even walking us through exercises for each pivot.
In Part 3, Hayes applies ACT principles to a variety of aspects of life including healthy behaviors, mental health, nurturing relationships, various types of performance, including sports performance, spiritual well-being, and coping with illness. Here and elsewhere Hayes cites studies showing the superior effectiveness of ACT to other counseling approaches.
I cannot assess his claims. I do have two criticisms. One is how often he repeats the claim of the superiority of this approach, to a point that I found tiresome. The second is that there seemed to be an inadequate "cutting room floor" and I felt that at times, his central ideas and arguments were obscured by excessive verbiage.
Nevertheless, the ideas of acceptance, of defusing, of perspective-taking, of becoming attentive and curious, even about pain, are at the heart of contemplative spirituality that has been helpful to many. To couple this with learning to be present and to live in the now, and to allow our values to shape our commitments seem to reflect the wisdom of many approaches toward transformation. I appreciated Hayes receptiveness to religious faith and an approach that recognized the complementary character of his therapeutic approach and the formational practices in religious traditions.
Perhaps the founder of this approach may be forgiven what I criticized as excesses. He's talking about his baby! What is evident throughout the pages of this book is the author's personal embrace and passion for ACT principles, his extensive clinical practice, and the deep care he has for clients and for seeing people flourish in their lives through applying the psychological flexibility skills he teaches in this work.
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
September 6, 2019
I went into this book expecting a sort of history of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy combined with a pop-sci feel. While it certainly covers the history of psychotherapy and the development of ACT, it is very much also a workbook filled with actionable steps and exercises for people currently in need of an improvement in their mental well-being.
One thing I appreciate about Hayes is that he is a dedicated scientist. He makes it clear where ACT has strong scientific support and also points out where the studies are lacking. I am not experienced enough with mental health methods to judge the validity of ACT versus CBT or any other approach, but I do like when an author not only has spent decades refining what he/she advocates but also is upfront about its limitations.
While I didn't read this in order to address any current issue I was personally having, there are MANY exercises in the second and third parts of the book for those of you who are seeking help, and I know all of us can use a mental tune-up from time to time. Still, my general recommendation for this book would be not as something everyone should read (just b/c I gave it 5 stars), but rather as a tool to read when it becomes necessary (for anxiety, depression, etc.).
One thing I appreciate about Hayes is that he is a dedicated scientist. He makes it clear where ACT has strong scientific support and also points out where the studies are lacking. I am not experienced enough with mental health methods to judge the validity of ACT versus CBT or any other approach, but I do like when an author not only has spent decades refining what he/she advocates but also is upfront about its limitations.
While I didn't read this in order to address any current issue I was personally having, there are MANY exercises in the second and third parts of the book for those of you who are seeking help, and I know all of us can use a mental tune-up from time to time. Still, my general recommendation for this book would be not as something everyone should read (just b/c I gave it 5 stars), but rather as a tool to read when it becomes necessary (for anxiety, depression, etc.).
October 6, 2021
A comprehensive, readable account of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It took a while to get through, but it was both informative and practical, and Hayes' tone felt clear and compassionate.
The six pivots can be more simply summarized with this cheat sheet:
- See our thoughts with enough distance that we can choose what we do next, regardless of our mind's chatter.
- Notice the story we've constructed of our selves and gain perspective about who we are.
- Allow ourselves to feel even when the feelings are painful or create a sense of vulnerability.
- Direct attention in an intentional way rather than by mere habit, noticing what is present here and now, inside us and out.
The six pivots can be more simply summarized with this cheat sheet:
- See our thoughts with enough distance that we can choose what we do next, regardless of our mind's chatter.
- Notice the story we've constructed of our selves and gain perspective about who we are.
- Allow ourselves to feel even when the feelings are painful or create a sense of vulnerability.
- Direct attention in an intentional way rather than by mere habit, noticing what is present here and now, inside us and out.
March 28, 2021
ACT has been the most helpful type of therapy I've had (mixed with more general trauma therapy), so I believe in the science and effeciveness of it. However, if I didn't, and someone gave me this book, I would not be sold. I found the style quite insufferable. The middle part that explains the tools is a little better even though Hayes invented ACT that doesn't mean that he's best equipped at explaining it.
June 1, 2021
Properly completed this book and all the exercises over like a year - totally changed my life.
February 23, 2020
ACT, along with DBT and motivational interviewing finally brought empathetic intuition and scientific skepticism together, and it works wonders.
The philosophy, model and techniques of ACT changed the way I approach clients as a physician and psychiatrist in training. Simple values and difusion techniques are entirely doable even in very brief encounters, or as a part of motivational interviewing, in a medical interview. Clients, specially those suffering from anxiety disorders, benefit tremendously from ACT.
Due to its exceptional results, I am positive ACT will be recognized as a pivot on the way we understand and help each other.
And this book is super well written by the way
Note: He (and others) have published books for clinicians to learn ACT and start practicing, this book is more of a passionate introduction to ACT
The philosophy, model and techniques of ACT changed the way I approach clients as a physician and psychiatrist in training. Simple values and difusion techniques are entirely doable even in very brief encounters, or as a part of motivational interviewing, in a medical interview. Clients, specially those suffering from anxiety disorders, benefit tremendously from ACT.
Due to its exceptional results, I am positive ACT will be recognized as a pivot on the way we understand and help each other.
And this book is super well written by the way
Note: He (and others) have published books for clinicians to learn ACT and start practicing, this book is more of a passionate introduction to ACT
July 30, 2020
Notes:
Hexaflex
+ Psychological flexibility changes the focus from feeling good to living well
+ The six processes redirect our healthy yearnings in effective directions
- Defusion: coherence and understanding
- Self: belonging and connection
- Willingness: to feel
- Presence: orientation
- Values: self-direction and purpose
- Action: competence
+ Six pivots summary
- Defusion: See our thoughts with enough distance that we can choose what we do next, regardless of our mind’s chatter
- Self: Notice the story we’ve constructed of our selves and gain perspective about who we are
- Willingness: Allow ourselves to feel even when the feelings are painful or create a sense of vulnerability
- Presence: Direct attention in an intentional way rather than by mere habit, noticing what is present here and now, inside us and out
- Values: Choose the qualities of being and doing that we want to evolve toward
- Action: Create habits that support these choices
Defusion (p. 163)
+ Three C’s of inflexibility
- Confirmation effect: Following rules even when they don’t fit our experience
“We become so enamored of the rules we tell ourselves to follow that we distort our experience to confirm that the rule is correct… Suppose we’re given the rule that we must not be so dominated by rules. It would not be that useful because we can become ensnared in trying to confirm to ourselves that we’re following that new rule”
- Coherence effect: Simplifying complexity with rules
“Because an accurate assessment of the causes of a situation can be extremely complicated, our minds often end up boiling down our assessments to grossly simplified explanations that fit with what a rule or set of rules tells us… We create stories about ourselves and our lives that block out the discomfort and ambiguity of the true complexity of situations”
- Compliance effect: Following rules to please others
“We follow rules to earn social approval by rule givers”
+ We can freely choose functional coherence over literal/formal coherence (not “is this thought true” but “does this thought serve a meaningful purpose?”)
Self (p. 177)
Willingness (p. 202)
+ Doesn’t necessarily reduce symptoms but does make you less bothered by them
Presence (p. 217)
Values (p. 239)
Action (p. 257)
Typo page 162: “let’s called it” instead of “let’s call it”
Quotes:
Life is a choice between love and fear.
We have not risen to the challenges of being human in the modern world.
[Although research shows the world is becoming safer,] our impression that the world is less safe results from more exposure to uncommon events through the media.
Psychological flexibility allows us to turn toward our discomfort and disquiet in a way that is open, curious, and kind. It’s about looking in a nonjudgmental and compassionate way at the places in ourselves and in our lives where we hurt, because the things that have the power to cause us the most pain are often the things we care about most deeply.
A memory or emotion is not like a hot stove or a lack of food. What makes logical sense for action in the outside world does not necessarily make psychological sense in the world of thoughts and feelings.
Medications can be helpful if they are used to leverage psychosocial methods, with lower doses and shorter durations, but as prescriptions have skyrocketed and medication-only has become the norm, the incidence of mental health problems has risen. What’s more, when people are falsely convinced that they have a “mental disease,” they tend to be more pessimistic that they can do anything on their own to improve their condition, such as through behavior change.
We are connected in consciousness to all of humanity—we belong not because we are special, but because we are human.
Changing our relationship to our thoughts and emotions, rather than trying to change their content, is the key to healing and realizing our true potential.
I saw with sudden clarity that the stories my analytical mind told me about myself were not me: the stories were rather the product of a set of thought processes that were in me.
A wealth of additional research has revealed that CBT generally does not work in the way that was originally postulated, or at least not consistently. Very large and carefully done studies have shown that disputing and trying to change thoughts doesn’t add much to CBT outcomes. In fact, cognitive thought change methods can even subtract from the impact of the behavioral methods, such as encouraging depressed people to become more active, that are still part of CBT! We now know that CBT has good effects mostly due to its behavioral components.
Not only are scores of genes implicated in any given condition, but even so, they account for only a few percentage points of the likelihood of developing a condition… The body has evolved a vast array of “epigenetic” processes—meaning ones that affect the activation of genes and are influenced by our life experiences. Geneticists have long agreed that experiences cannot change genes, and that is still technically correct. But we now know that experiences do significantly determine which genes are allowed to operate in your body.
ACT research has shown that developing psychological flexibility can have powerful effects on the functioning of our genes… Flexibility processes literally alter how genes work.
Yes, it is correct to say that your brain determines your behavior. But it is equally correct to say that your behavior changes your brain.
With relational thinking, we can connect things that have no physical relation to one another and don’t appear together in time and place.
At the end of the day, we are what we do and why we do it. No matter what problems we struggle with—anxiety, depression, negative rumination, self-doubt, chronic pain—they do not have to keep us from acting in a way that brings our lives meaning and purpose.
[The mind can become] totally dominated by the attempt to understand the past (“How did I get here?”) so that you might control the future (“How can I get out?”).
Disappearing into the now is not what we mean by mindfulness—rather it is attention to the now that is flexible, fluid, and voluntary.
The way to fulfillment is living day to day in a way that is meaningful in itself, not primarily as a means to some other end, such as social acceptance or wealth.
We are always story-ing. We are creating a narrative that is but one of many possible narratives.
The research on meditation shows that only about 7 percent of its benefits are determined by the sheer amount of practice. The quality [and consistency] of the practice is more important than the time devoted.
We can easily lose sight of what is actually meaningful to us, pursuing socially compliant goals and superficial gratifications instead. Every tick of the clock can mock us with the emptiness of such a life.
Envisioning a future in which we’ve mastered the new behavior we’re committing to leads us into the competency conundrum: our problem-solving mind wants to get us to that future now, and that fixation on future success and external achievement undercuts the will to stick with the process that builds competence.
Nearly two-thirds of all poor health is due to behavior. Not infections, toxins, or genetic predisposition… Meanwhile, for every dollar spent on healthcare, less than a dime is spent on helping people change their unhealthy behaviors. Physical interventions, such as medications or surgery, are the go-to method for health problems in Western medicine, even though they usually carry their own risks and for some problems have limited effects.
Think of yourself as being a sink and the sources of stress as the taps pouring stress into you. One way to reduce your stress level would be to shut off the taps, but just as effective would be to unplug the drain, letting the stress flow through you.
Changing your thoughts in a given direction means taking their content seriously. You have to notice them and evaluate them in order to try to change them, which may actually strengthen their hold over your mind.
To qualify as a disease, a condition has to have a known originating cause (an etiology), be expressed through known processes (a course), and respond in particular ways to treatment. Mental health conditions don’t meet those criteria. The medical community actually refers to them as syndromes, and they are rather roughly diagnosed through lists of symptoms… Indeed, no clear biological marker has been found for any common mental health condition.
People with psychosis experience intense stigmatization. They tend to be seen as having a brain disease or a genetic flaw that makes them seem profoundly “other.” It is not true. As with all mental health conditions, we do not yet know why people have these hallucinations or delusions, but hearing voices (for example) is not in and of itself crippling any more than chronic pain, or anxiety, or a painful loss. People are people, pure and simple, and a growing body of research suggests that inflexibility processes increase the impact and perhaps even the emergence of hallucinations and delusions.
High-level performance is best pursued not out of fear, judgment, and avoidance, but with mindfulness, commitment, and love.
April 10, 2022
(If someone has some favourite ACT recommendations, please share!)
I was not familiar with the existence of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) until a few years ago, but have found it helpful in dealing with anxiety, avoidance and "negative" emotions in a significant way. More effective than fighting the (often losing) battle against negative thoughts and emotions with CBT. Even though those techniques can be somewhat helpful as well.
The six pivots are:
1. Defusion
(Not identifying with your thoughts)
2. Acceptance
(Fully embracing your (negative) emotions, instead of running away)
3. Presence
(Being mindful of the here and now)
4. Self
(Creating a helpful and constructive view of yourself)
5. Values
(Worthy and meaningful themes in your life)
6. Committed Action
(Action based on your commitments and values, instead of being driven by unhelpful thoughts and emotions)
This book could have been more concise and powerful, but I appreciated many metaphors, anecdotes, scientific evidence, and explanations of different techniques applied to different issues.
Trimmed down it would have gotten a 5-star from me.
I was not familiar with the existence of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) until a few years ago, but have found it helpful in dealing with anxiety, avoidance and "negative" emotions in a significant way. More effective than fighting the (often losing) battle against negative thoughts and emotions with CBT. Even though those techniques can be somewhat helpful as well.
The six pivots are:
1. Defusion
(Not identifying with your thoughts)
2. Acceptance
(Fully embracing your (negative) emotions, instead of running away)
3. Presence
(Being mindful of the here and now)
4. Self
(Creating a helpful and constructive view of yourself)
5. Values
(Worthy and meaningful themes in your life)
6. Committed Action
(Action based on your commitments and values, instead of being driven by unhelpful thoughts and emotions)
This book could have been more concise and powerful, but I appreciated many metaphors, anecdotes, scientific evidence, and explanations of different techniques applied to different issues.
Trimmed down it would have gotten a 5-star from me.
August 13, 2019
I am the queen of self help books. Some are helpful, some not so much. I found this one quite helpful. I like that it's broken down simply and in ways that allows anyone to follow it and use the program. I suggest that you take your time with it. Do not read it like a novel. I found it most helpful to highlight and make notes as I went along to better be able to go back to different exercises.
*I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*
*I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*
November 11, 2023
«Det er gjennom vår dypeste lidelser at vi finner våre dypeste lengsler - og ut ifra dette - til slutt våre verdier»
ACT og Steven Hayes bringer et fantastisk og personlig budskap om hvordan forholde seg til livet og vanskeligheter, kort sagt: gjennom å akseptere våre følelser og det som livet kaster på oss, og å holde en stø kurs på veien mot verdiene våre.
Mye av boken er viet til å selge inn ACT (som på mange måter er eldgammel kunnskap i ny forpakning) som et produkt - noe som putter meg pittelitt av. Det hadde vært mye artigere å dykke ned i den filosofiske meningen og lærdommen fra de gamle visdomstradisjonene som ACT låner tungt fra, men det er vel kansje heller ikke formålet med akkurat denne boken 🤷♂️
ACT og Steven Hayes bringer et fantastisk og personlig budskap om hvordan forholde seg til livet og vanskeligheter, kort sagt: gjennom å akseptere våre følelser og det som livet kaster på oss, og å holde en stø kurs på veien mot verdiene våre.
Mye av boken er viet til å selge inn ACT (som på mange måter er eldgammel kunnskap i ny forpakning) som et produkt - noe som putter meg pittelitt av. Det hadde vært mye artigere å dykke ned i den filosofiske meningen og lærdommen fra de gamle visdomstradisjonene som ACT låner tungt fra, men det er vel kansje heller ikke formålet med akkurat denne boken 🤷♂️
March 12, 2020
This book sounds like an attempt to popularise ACT. It is doing so by providing a biased, subjective and misguided ‘history of psychology’ while leaving out important scientific advancements in some areas and a wide range of effective and evidence based modalities in the field. It also provides a distorted view of some of the advancements the field; such as impact of physiology (neuroscience). As a therapist, I trust some of ACT’s skills and adopt and use them in my integrative approach (which includes a range of modalities). However, I found this book disappointing and if it was the first book to read about ACT, I would have not continued reading and learning more. ACT can be a useful tool, similar to other useful modalities in psychotherapy. If you’d like to learn more, I personally recommend Russ Harris’s books. His books are more to the point and less misleading.
September 3, 2020
The book presents a practical approach of developing psychological flexibility, which authors claims and has proven to some extent, is an important skill set while existing in this planet. A must read for everyone looking forward to open their minds !
February 7, 2020
Very nice, positive, encouraging, book that made me think more about flexibility, making behavior changes and doing what's good overall in life. Would reccomend to anyone.
July 31, 2020
The emperors new cloths look a lot like something old
May 28, 2020
If you skip the first section to the actual steps of pivoting the book's value is there.
My psychologist recommended this to me and I'll say it's subtle, sometimes annoying, I resisted the info as I listened on audiobooks, but the concept of how to accept and acknowledge evil thoughts, self destructive thought patterns, rigid stuck behavior patterns, all that is a good approach. By acknowledging we see, and from acknowledging we can accept, integrate and what he calls pivot.
Reminds me of white people always avoiding the fact we're a racist group living a privilege which is built on racism. It's everywhere and poc all know it but white people we all deny we're racist, we deny the system we all perpetuate is racist. So as long as we keep that up it's an anxious hurtful world. Acknowledging the racism in us as whites, if we stop trying to tell ourselves "I'm not racist I'm not racist I'm not racist" like some spell to ward off our racism; instead we could start looking at how we, being white, are part of whiteness which has racism up and through and in its entire being. We maybe, though it's a big maybe, but if white folks could even take the HUGE step of saying, "ok, well, what if I am racist? How might I be racist? What ways am I racist?" Even that, which is a revolutionary act for a white person, from that white people could start to "pivot" from our blindness of racial denial.
My psychologist recommended this to me and I'll say it's subtle, sometimes annoying, I resisted the info as I listened on audiobooks, but the concept of how to accept and acknowledge evil thoughts, self destructive thought patterns, rigid stuck behavior patterns, all that is a good approach. By acknowledging we see, and from acknowledging we can accept, integrate and what he calls pivot.
Reminds me of white people always avoiding the fact we're a racist group living a privilege which is built on racism. It's everywhere and poc all know it but white people we all deny we're racist, we deny the system we all perpetuate is racist. So as long as we keep that up it's an anxious hurtful world. Acknowledging the racism in us as whites, if we stop trying to tell ourselves "I'm not racist I'm not racist I'm not racist" like some spell to ward off our racism; instead we could start looking at how we, being white, are part of whiteness which has racism up and through and in its entire being. We maybe, though it's a big maybe, but if white folks could even take the HUGE step of saying, "ok, well, what if I am racist? How might I be racist? What ways am I racist?" Even that, which is a revolutionary act for a white person, from that white people could start to "pivot" from our blindness of racial denial.
April 15, 2020
This is the second time, a guy named Steve has saved my life. The first time, it was Steve Jobs and I was in the throes of some serious despair and on the verge of ending my life.
This time, I had buried myself amidst other peoples' expectations, almost suffocating.
This is also the second time I've glimpsed magic. The first time was being introduced to Applied Behaviour Analysis.
This should also be the second book you read on ACT. First being, Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. If you can stomach that, you'll digest this one.
As a behaviour analyst, if it's not data driven, it's just an opinion. So naturally, a notebook now resides on my work desk.
There is lots of cool research that I will be following up for further research. Research begets research.
But seriously, thank you Steve. Your text has made me realise the value of my values. And that I have had my share of suffering but I can choose what's next.
This time, I had buried myself amidst other peoples' expectations, almost suffocating.
This is also the second time I've glimpsed magic. The first time was being introduced to Applied Behaviour Analysis.
This should also be the second book you read on ACT. First being, Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. If you can stomach that, you'll digest this one.
As a behaviour analyst, if it's not data driven, it's just an opinion. So naturally, a notebook now resides on my work desk.
There is lots of cool research that I will be following up for further research. Research begets research.
But seriously, thank you Steve. Your text has made me realise the value of my values. And that I have had my share of suffering but I can choose what's next.
June 5, 2021
I loved this book so much- it was a wonderful introduction to ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) and how to apply it to various situations we deal with in life. I was left feeling inspired and hopeful. I highly recommend this book.
January 2, 2022
Evidence based. Definitely will be an oft used book in my anxiety toolkit.
May 18, 2021
This is a book that should be read by everybody, whether they are struggling or not. It helps you understand how your mind works and how to manage your thoughts in order to live a life closer to your values. It also gives you a bigger understanding of others and their struggles, and makes you aware of your own judgemental behaviour, towards yourself and towards others. It makes you understand and overcome the toxic though processes that your brain runs.
It offers science-based insight and exercises that you can do in order to focus on what matters, and helps you lead a more intentional and less reactive life. It's like a journey you take to better understand yourself, and choose to act based on what you believe in, so that you can live a more meaningful life.
More in detail, it explains how you can build flexibility in your mind, focus on the present, learn to accept what you cannot change, diffuse from harmful thoughts, and commit to helpful behaviours and changes, based on your values. For all the 6 pivots, there are basic and advanced exercises. There are also specialised chapters in which they show how you can apply ACT exercises in certain situation: to improve your work, your study, to overcome a loss, manage a disease, etc.
To sum up, this book helps you be more practical and empathetic to yourself and others, as well as decide on how you want to live and commit to that path. I cannot recommend it enough.
It offers science-based insight and exercises that you can do in order to focus on what matters, and helps you lead a more intentional and less reactive life. It's like a journey you take to better understand yourself, and choose to act based on what you believe in, so that you can live a more meaningful life.
More in detail, it explains how you can build flexibility in your mind, focus on the present, learn to accept what you cannot change, diffuse from harmful thoughts, and commit to helpful behaviours and changes, based on your values. For all the 6 pivots, there are basic and advanced exercises. There are also specialised chapters in which they show how you can apply ACT exercises in certain situation: to improve your work, your study, to overcome a loss, manage a disease, etc.
To sum up, this book helps you be more practical and empathetic to yourself and others, as well as decide on how you want to live and commit to that path. I cannot recommend it enough.
September 3, 2019
This author talks about the importance of psychological/attentional flexibility and describes activities as skills to learn to pivot into healthier thinking and feeling patterns. Amongst the skills: defusion, self, acceptance, presence, values, and action. One operating concept: noticing your thoughts and correcting them. I personally found some of the reflections to be useful for self-awareness. I tried certain activities suggested. I am not convinced these activities created lasting change (yet), but they improved my functional status when under a defeated, hopeless, helpless cloud. This book has been a slow read for me - - not a two-day project, so I am writing this review based on a little less than 1/2 of the complete book read. I usually do not write "early" reviews, but there are not a lot of reviews yet, so I want to put out my encouragement to interested parties to give it a try. Also, I think psy-practitioners may want to read the book to collect new cognitive behavioral interventions to try with patients. The author might want to use the assistance of a graphics person to make key points more concise or better presented, but I consider the book to be a success. Note: I received a free copy for review.
June 29, 2019
This book and this method are helping me a lot. I did not expect that. I got the book from Library Thing Early Reviewers as an advance copy. Nothing else really interested me on their list that month so I figured, "Why not?" I do see it for what it is, which is lots of good, proven ideas from different sources, put together as one by one psychologist and packaged as a new idea. I get that. However, it's working for me. Generally, I like when someone who knows more than I do about something and has the time, puts something together for me. You kind of have to wade through some stories to get to things sometimes. Almost like a too chatty but helpful friend or coworker. (I'm not criticizing. I'm too chatty myself but hopefully helpful). He gives some good strategies to deal with things I'm actually dealing with, and it's working. Right away too.
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March 5, 2021Extensive book on ACT. If you're a beginner in ACT, I would rather recommend "The Happiness Trap", which is written a bit more lightly and feels less author-centered.
April 28, 2021
This ranks as one of the most important books I have ever read. I knew that my thoughts were not always correct. Hayes dives into why we think thoughts and how it impacts us. He then spends chapters explaining it further and provides exercises that help us combat the thoughts that we have. Our mind has a voice whether we like it or not and knowing how to address the "Dictator Within" frees us.
The writing style is light. Sections can get bogged down in statistics and usually followed with a simple phrase or statement that explains it all in another way. I like it for having it explained a couple different ways. I have to give Hayes credit that he doesn't sell Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as and end all solution to everything. He is optimistic about how it can help people and shows how combining ACT with other treatments or educational programs will increase the outcome.
The writing style is light. Sections can get bogged down in statistics and usually followed with a simple phrase or statement that explains it all in another way. I like it for having it explained a couple different ways. I have to give Hayes credit that he doesn't sell Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as and end all solution to everything. He is optimistic about how it can help people and shows how combining ACT with other treatments or educational programs will increase the outcome.
April 26, 2020
Like Hayes says at the end, this book does not include anything that you did not, on some level, know already. For years, when I have been drowning in troubling emotions, one of my self-talk slogans has been: “Whatever the circumstances, do something positive for the good”. And for decades I have been practicing mindfulness meditation, including the practice of RAIN- rather than seeking to change difficult feelings, we Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. ACT is based in traditions of mindfulness practice without naming Buddhism, and melds them with exploring values and finding ways to act on those values. How the author lays out this approach, including examples from practice in his own life (with panic attacks and tinnitus), has already been incredibly helpful to me, and has made me want to explore it more deeply, and find ways to use it with my patients.
April 27, 2023
This is not a particularly five star read. But the ACT therapy that it describes can be a real life changer. If you are interested in a blend of modern psychology and some of the concepts in meditation and non-duality then this could be your sweet spot. Especially if you are under duress. As a stand-alone self development book it strikes me as a little bit complicated and I’m not sure how easy it would be to implement. It seems like more of a description of the scaffolding of a kind of therapy, than a quick fix.
November 11, 2019
One of the goals of this book is to improve psychological flexibility, which is the ability to feel and think with openness. Steven C. Hayes presents a very well-structured approach, backed by clinical studies, toward pivoting toward what matters.
This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 explains why we need to pivot and how our thought processes can interfere with healthy approach to life. Part 2 is the heart of the book and describes how to change the course of our thoughts, actions, and lives with 6 methods or 'pivots.' Part 3 provides practical application of the ACT toolkit to many issues we may encounter - unhealthy behaviors, mental health, relationships, work performance, spiritual well-being, illness and disability, and social transformation.
This is a call to action to improve ourselves and our interactions with others to work toward a kinder, gentler sense of community with our family members, our colleagues, our neighbors, and beyond.
This book was received as part of Early Reviewer on Library Thing
This book is divided into three parts. Part 1 explains why we need to pivot and how our thought processes can interfere with healthy approach to life. Part 2 is the heart of the book and describes how to change the course of our thoughts, actions, and lives with 6 methods or 'pivots.' Part 3 provides practical application of the ACT toolkit to many issues we may encounter - unhealthy behaviors, mental health, relationships, work performance, spiritual well-being, illness and disability, and social transformation.
This is a call to action to improve ourselves and our interactions with others to work toward a kinder, gentler sense of community with our family members, our colleagues, our neighbors, and beyond.
This book was received as part of Early Reviewer on Library Thing
February 2, 2020
Review and Notes
The book was mostly useful as a framework, though I found Hayes style of writing to be the blithely optimistic and fluffy style of a self help guru, in the worst way. While Hayes succeeded in making useful and interesting points, while explaining the well designed, scientifically tested, and effective framework behind Acceptance and Commitment therapy, his excessive attachment to fluffy metaphors (drop the rope, dictator within, etc) and positivity-stuffed-stories endowed the book with a noxiousness comparable to Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits for Highly Successful People”; this is not a compliment.
Not withstanding, the book does what it sets out to do in Part one: explain the underpinnings of acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and gives techniques and tactics to be used in each of the mental pivots in Part two. Part three is a targeted at specific applications of ACT, and should be treated as such, not read end to end.
The book was mostly useful as a framework, though I found Hayes style of writing to be the blithely optimistic and fluffy style of a self help guru, in the worst way. While Hayes succeeded in making useful and interesting points, while explaining the well designed, scientifically tested, and effective framework behind Acceptance and Commitment therapy, his excessive attachment to fluffy metaphors (drop the rope, dictator within, etc) and positivity-stuffed-stories endowed the book with a noxiousness comparable to Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits for Highly Successful People”; this is not a compliment.
Not withstanding, the book does what it sets out to do in Part one: explain the underpinnings of acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and gives techniques and tactics to be used in each of the mental pivots in Part two. Part three is a targeted at specific applications of ACT, and should be treated as such, not read end to end.
August 21, 2020
I’m really enamoured with this approach - as someone who has struggles with anxiety, disordered eating, depression and other mental health issues, I am constantly seeking ways to ‘fix’ my mind. This book made me realise that acceptance is so key to healing and that seeing my mind as the enemy is not the answer. I think it’s a step up from CBT and I was impressed by ACT’s accolades and versatility.
I particularly liked the idea of thanking your mind for the thought. E.g ‘Thankyou so much for that, I can see what you’re trying to do there, but I’ve got this’. I’ve already been putting it into practice. Would recommend this to everyone.
I particularly liked the idea of thanking your mind for the thought. E.g ‘Thankyou so much for that, I can see what you’re trying to do there, but I’ve got this’. I’ve already been putting it into practice. Would recommend this to everyone.
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