ACT 3: Hexaflex

Our last two Acceptance and Commitment Therapy articles have covered the broader ACT themes of accepting negative emotions, and taking committed action towards your goals. In this article we break this therapeutic framework down into the six key components that make up the holistic ACT model of mental wellbeing.

Under the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model, mental wellbeing is not defined as a state where we are free from mental illness. Rather, it is a state where we can freely adapt to changes in life as they come. In ACT, we call this Psychological Flexibility.

Below, we discuss the six key pillars that contribute to improved Psychological Flexibilty. The inflexible behaviour is listed first, and the flexible behaviour listed second - please forgive us, several of the pillar names are quite wordy (ACT psychologists like to talk!). We've done our best to explain these in a way that can be easily understood, but please drop us a comment if you would like us to expand or clarify any sections.

Pillar 1: Dominance of the Conceptualised Past and Feared Future vs. Contact with the Present Moment

We have covered Mindfulness and mind-wandering in articles in the past, so we will keep this one relatively brief to avoid redundancy. For more information, feel free to visit our Mindfulness in Brief article.

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

This consists of habitual mind-wandering, rumination on perceptions of the past and future - often negative. It is common to run on auto-pilot a lot of the time, and to not fully attend to situations - whether it be a conversation, class, or simply the world around us as we walk. Constant auto-pilot or rumination can increase stress and anxiety levels, and lower resilience to unexpected events.

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

A focus on present-moment awareness and observing experiences in real-time can enhance our focussing and emotional processing abilities. It also allows us to get more out of each moment as they come. Present-moment awareness can be strengthened by mindfulness practice, or simply making a conscious effort to spend more time focusing on the present.

Pillar 2: Experiential Avoidance vs. Acceptance

Acceptance vs. Experiential Avoidance was discussed in more depth through the lens of Clean vs Dirty Discomfort in our first ACT article. This pillar largely refers to psychologically flexible vs inflexible ways of handling negative emotions and experiences.

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

Experiential Avoidance is conceptualised as the avoidance of negative emotions and experiences - for example, if you recently went through a breakup and caught yourself thinking about your ex - experiential avoidance might be to tell yourself not to think about them, or berate yourself because you "should be over them by now" (and since when has telling yourself to "just not think about it" ever made anything actually feel better).

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

Acceptance that negative emotions and experiences are a natural part of life, and that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with these experiences. Practice not judging your negative emotions, and instead try to connect with them in a more honest way. Extending from our past example you find yourself thinking about a recent breakup, try acknowledging your negative emotions with descriptive words - e.g. "I notice some sadness and loneliness right now". It is important to recognise that our emotions are never right or wrong - they just are.

Pillar 3: Cognitive Fusion vs. Defusion

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

Cognitive Fusion refers to the process of over-connecting (or "fusing") with our thoughts. Human minds are very active, and our brains are constantly coming up with new thoughts in response to the world around us - it's important to understand that these thoughts are not always true or helpful. This concept can be a little tricky to explain, so we're going to start with an example. Let's say that you received a negative mark on an exam, and so had the immediate thought: "I'm a failure". If we are fusing with this thought, we view it as an accurate representation of reality. This gives our thoughts a great deal of power over our emotional states - it's not nice to be told that you're a failure, and in this situation we've done it to ourselves. Fusing with our negative thoughts all the time can be emotionally overwhelming, and lower our resilience in the face of negative events.

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

Defusion allows us to separate our emotional reality from our thoughts. A good way of conceptualising this difference is that in a state of cognitive fusion, we observe the world through the lens of our thoughts - e.g. with the thought "I'm a failure", you would see the world from the perspective that you are a failure. In a state of cognitive fusion, we can observe the world and we can observe our thoughts. A nice defusion method is to catch any negative thoughts and rephrase them to make their "thought" status a little more obvious - e.g. "I'm having the thought that I'm a failure." In many situations, this takes a lot of the emotional punch out of the negative thought, and allows us to see it for what it truly is: just words.

Note: There is nothing wrong with fusing with a positive or helpful thought! For example if you are hanging out with a romantic partner and have the thought "I really love this person", feel free to connect with that as emotionally as suits you.

Pillar 4: Attachment to the Conceptualised Self vs Self as Context

This pillar is also a little tricky to explain - again, feel free to let us know in the comments if you feel unclear!

What this essentially revolves around is how we view ourselves - our self identity. Under ACT, our sense of self revolves around three layers: Self-as-Concept (viewing your consciousness as "descriptive labels", e.g. "I am smart, I am funny, I am a failure"; Self-as-Process (viewing your consciousness as your thoughts, sensations, and emotions); and Self-as Context (viewing your consciousness as the layer that observes your thoughts and experiences). This can be a little abstract to differentiate, but we can try and break this down by taking a look at the thought, "I am a failure." Under Self-as-Concept, when faced with that thought, we might draw our identity from the literal meaning of those words - we would identify as a failure. Under Self-as-Process, we can notice that "I am a failure" is just a thought, and draw our identity as someone who thinks that they are a failure. Under Self-as Context, we can recognise that this "noticing" of thoughts is conducted by a further level of consciousness - a separate place where we can observe our thoughts and feelings as they happen, without viewing these as part of who we are.

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

Attachment to the Conceptualised Self stems from placing emphasis on Self-as-Concept, or our exterior labels. When we view our identity as labels, it disconnects us from our decision-making. How many times in a movie has some tall-dark-and-handsome character made a speech about how his romantic love interest should leave him because "I'm a bad guy! It's who I am, and that will never change!" Through doing this, our character ignores that he has control over his actions, and defines his own bad behaviour as a fixed personality trait that is simply impossible to overcome. When we do this to ourselves, we almost set up a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, if we identify as a person who is "bad at maths", why would we ever put effort into maths study? There's no point in trying a different approach or asking our teacher questions - we're just bad at maths. This rigid approach to self-identity can trap us in situations that make us unhappy, and make us forget that we ultimately do have control over our decisions - growth is possible in all areas, even if we aren't automatically good at them straight away (whether that is mathematics or being something other than a "bad guy").

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

Focus on Self-as-context. Next time you catch yourself labelling yourself, try to step back and notice where that thought is coming from. Then, try to notice who is noticing. This perspective can allow us to make decisions more flexibly, and help avoid rigid identities that can prevent us from making positive change in our lives.

Pillar 5: Lack of Values Clarity vs. Values

We have also discussed valued living in a recent article, so we will again cover this pillar more briefly.

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

Lack of values clarity comes about when we lose contact with what is most important to us over time. This can happen as a result of events or life changes, or it can come about because of more cognitive processes - for example, the fear of being rejected can sometimes prevents us from pursuing seeking love, which may be important to us.

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

Prioritising values in decision-making can keep us close to what is most important to us. It's important to acknowledge that everybody values different things, and that there is no such thing as a "right" or "wrong" value. Taking the time to reflect on what our values are and how we can incorporate them more in our daily lives can be really beneficial for enhancing wellbeing, and shedding some light when we feel like "something is missing".

Pillar 6: Committed Action vs. Inaction, Impulsivity, or Avoidant Persistence

Psychologically Inflexible Behaviour:

When unexpected events crop up in life, it is easy to prioritise short-term goals (such as feeling good through food, drink, etc.) over long-term goals that may move us towards our values. This can lead to feeling stuck, or directionless.

Psychologically Flexible Alternative:

Through combining all of the above, it can be helpful to break down some specific and achievable steps we can take towards our larger, more meaningful goals. It's important to stay committed to the things that are important to us.

In summary:

Psychological flexibility stems from having a deep understanding of the things that are most important to us in life, and having a range of healthy processing methods for dealing with surprises that life may throw in our way. Thank you very much for taking part in our three-part ACT series - if there are any self-care topics you would like us to handle next, feel free to drop a suggestion in the comments.

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