The beauty of today’s recovery world is that we are inundated with therapeutic modalities that can help individuals to improve their well-being. With a choice of different methods to try out, finding a therapy that works for you is imperative. One therapy approach that has been around for a few decades and has started to gain some traction again in recent years is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is based on taking the strategy of using mindfulness along with acceptance to focus on valued behaviors rather than forfeit the feelings and behaviors altogether.
Own your undesirable feelings
The point of this therapy is to be in the present moment and understand why you are having these feelings in the first place. Rather than push away from undesirable emotions, you can really use your feelings as a stepping stone for solid results with ACT. Understanding the truth about where the feelings are coming from and how to organize them can strengthen emotional sobriety.
Own your response and reaction
Life on life’s terms will happen to everyone, meaning that negative things will occur at times for all humans. What you do have control of is your reaction to how life presents itself to you. ACT gives you an opportunity to conduct yourself with cognitive defusion — allowing you to deal with your memories, thoughts, behaviors, or urges as they come.
Own your situations
Instead of struggling with your personal experiences, you can use them to strengthen you by letting them come and go with ease. ACT gives you the ability to decipher goals that can assist you in knowing the value of what you are going through. Carrying out your goals becomes the main objective to find meaning in your life.
For someone who is struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, battling the underlying issue of denial and low self-esteem is often a problem, as well, leading them to use substances as a way to cope. ACT has a commonality with 12-Step programs, due in part to the acceptance of their condition and cultivating a connection with the present moment through a higher power. Using acceptance in place of unproductive control can bring light to acknowledging the appropriate change to unpleasant factors, such as addiction. With ACT, you could find yourself being grateful for your present circumstances and gain a positive sense of yourself.
Offering a full range of recovery and mental health services, Detox Center of Colorado offers “Expanded Recovery” to enrich our clients’ lives in mind, body, and spirit. Through evidence-based therapy options and the endless adventure of Colorado, Detox Center of Colorado fosters connection, encouraging clients to get connected to themselves, their peers, their families, and their higher power. With the power of recovery, clients are restored to full health and experience life-changing healing. Call us today for more information: 303-536-5463
