Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

What is ACT?

The heart of this therapy modality can be found right in its name! When using the acronym for this modality, many therapists refer to it as the verb “act”. The reason being is that ACT is action oriented. While most other modalities are focused on reducing or eliminating symptoms, ACT focuses on cultivating a more harmonious relationship with difficult internal experiences, such as thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. Instead of trying to change them, we learn to build more acceptance around these difficult internal experiences while taking a compassionate and nonjudgmental stance. This increased sense of harmony with our inner world might free up space to be more present and engage in behaviors that connect us more with what is most important to us in our lives. Through living a life in which we connect with our values, difficult internal experiences might actually become less noisy, without even trying to turn down the noise!

How can ACT be helpful for syringomyelia patients?

Syringomyelia patients experience a complex array of neurological and other symptoms that can be uncomfortable, painful, and sometimes even debilitating The onset and course of daily symptoms can be completely unpredictable, even despite our best efforts. This can lead to a whole host of difficult thoughts and feelings. Difficult thoughts might include:

“Why won’t these symptoms ever go away?”

“Are my symptoms going to get worse?”

“I hate being in so much pain.”

“I feel betrayed by my body.”

Difficult feelings might include fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration, anger, confusion, and hopelessness. Notice how I’m not labeling these thoughts and feelings as “bad” or “negative.” It’s completely normal for these types of thoughts and feelings to occur when experiencing a chronic illness such as syringomyelia. The mind and body are always trying to help us in some way so that we can get our needs met. If we’re in pain or experiencing other symptoms, then we naturally perceive them as a threat that need to be addressed.

Since syringomyelia is a chronic illness with persistent symptoms that are often out of our control, thinking about how to alleviate the symptoms all of the time might not be helpful and can easily completely consume us. Like an overly helpful friend, sometimes these difficult thoughts and feelings can be overbearing, communicating to us that we need to fixate on the symptoms of this chronic illness. Through ACT, we can create more space for these difficult internal experiences, without being completely consumed by them. We can meet syringomyelia with greater acceptance and engage what is most important to us in a given moment. This does not mean that we are denying or minimizing our symptoms. If we need to be attending to our symptoms, we can do so intentionally, as attending to our health might be exactly what is most important in that moment.

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References:

Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple: an easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.

Hayes, S. C. (2020). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Principles of becoming more flexible, effective, and fulfilled. Sounds True.