A little help goes a long way.

books:

	• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Steven C. Hayes New Harbinger Publications, 2005 - 206 pages average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

helped me.

I read some exerpts of this book, provided by a therapist. At first, I had no idea what he was referring to, when he told me to "accept my thoughts" (on a very basic level) and "commit" to my values/goals, but after much work, I think this concept really helped me out. I think this book would definitely be useful if you were motivated to go through the exercises and take the lessons established in the book.

Spectacular

I suffer of OCD and panic attacks (if Hell exists, and I believe so, I am sure it has to be something like an eternal panic attack). My life had been, for many years -about 15-, all about my obsessions, compulsions and fears. I lived in a continuous reactive mode to my mind. If my mind was over-curious or stressed I felt fear and just followed it. I would be amazed at myself and my continuous, unstopping over-thinking.

I started by reading Tolle's "The Power of Now". The book, instead of helping me, caused me panic attacks (well, the book and my personal circumstances too). I was feeling like "Well, my thougts are different from myself and my self-identity, but... if I am not my mind, if I am not my thoughts, then who am I?". Afterwards, I read "Brain Lock". Great book! Still, I was living in continuous reactive mode: if an obsessive thought would come, I would react with the book methodology (Realize one is having a thought, realize one has OCD, find something else to do and, finally, stop giving importance to the obsessions). The book was a breakthrough for me into CBT. But, walking down a library some day, prey of a depression after a panic attack had spoiled a relationship, I came across this book (Get out of our mind...) I bought it with a bunch of other books.

What makes this book so great is that it takes you by hand to ACT (a form of CBT) and actually has compassion at yourself. It goes slowly. It repeats the ideas several times and makes amazing analogies. It explains, in plain English, the mind-trap of trying not to think something and how this is a loophole (the less you try to think on an elephant, the more you think of it). It contains plenty of exercises. I did them (Do them! They actually get yourself out of your talkative mind) and started feeling the change. I had lots of fear at the beginning, to confront my fears -yes: fear of my fears), but after some time I learned -or am learning- to accept my thoughts without fighting them... and then...

...and then, there was this chapter which actually was called "If I am not my thoughts, then who am I"!! This chapter opened my eyes to living my life not reactively (like, sadly, most people I know do) but proactively: you don't have to follow every little whim and capricious idea that spots on your mind! You can live according to your values and principles!

This book changed my life. God knows it did. And OCD and panic have made disasters in my life (destroyed a relationship with a wonderful woman, swamped myself and made me keep stuck on the same laboral position for years, and a very long etcetera), but I am not going to pay attention to them anymore. No matter how much they "yell" inside myself.

I got things more important to do than solving my "OCD/Panic" situation. I have some values to live for and some people to love.

10/10 (I am re-reading the book now, just after I finished it)

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A Unique Way to View Suffering

I purchased this book as a resource for possibly managing managerial stress. It provided fresh insight and suggested a different approach. For my money, this angle of attack on an old problem is one that is able to actually help people deal with their issues.

For those who plan to buy this as a leisurely afternoon read should be aware that this is a WORKBOOK with the emphasis on WORK. The book is chock full of exercises that gently forces the reader into a heightened awareness.

I particularly enjoyed the reading and exercises in the section titled Mindfulness. I learned a few things in spite of myself.

I hope you find my opinion helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR
Author of Wingtips with Spurs Cowboy Wisdom for Today's Business Leaders.

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A little help goes a long way.

I absolutely loved the book. All the excercises pushed me to be brutally honest with myself and actually realize which prblems were related to what.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a new approach to psychotherapy that rethinks even our most basic assumptions of mental well-being. Starting with the assumption that the normal condition of human existence is suffering and struggle, ACT works by first encouraging individuals to accept their lives as they are in the here and now. This acceptance is an antidote to the problem of avoidance, which ACT views as among the greatest risk factors for unnecessary suffering and poor mental health. The process of ACT includes help for individuals to identify a set of core values, a personal set of objectives that matter to them personally. The therapy then encourages the individual to commit to behavior that furthers these values despite potentially painful emotional obstacles. Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life offers a five-step plan for coping with painful emotions such as anxiety and depression. It teaches you how to learn life-enhancing behavior strategies that work to further the goals you value most. You?ll learn to engage with and overcome painful thoughts and feelings with step-by-step acceptance and mindfulness-based techniques. You?ll find out how to let go of control, and develop compassion and flexibility. The realization that painful feelings cannot be controlled will open you to the possibility of fully emotional living. Once present, engaged, and aware, you can begin to build new lives for yourself filled with significance and meaning. This book is not about overcoming pain or fighting emotions; it?s about embracing life and feeling everything it has to offer. In this way, it offers a way out of suffering by choosing to life a life based on what matters most.

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