Re: Living in a valued direction

[Guest guest]

Hi Lou,

My question is, how much does one have to do to gain long-term benefit?To me, it's not how much one does, it's the quality of what one does. All those things you mentioned doing -- were they in pursuit of your values or just a way of staying busy (not necessarily wrong, but worth defining)? As one does more and more in the direction of their values, more and more opportunities occur to practice valued living; it builds on itself. You have already attained long-term benefits and an unexpected crash cannot take that away from you.Is medication really the only way out?I don't see anything as "a way out." Finding a way out is counter to ACT, which is about finding acceptance even if there is no way out (think of someone dying in the last stages of cancer--no way out of that; only acceptance). Medication can help some people; others, not. If you want to know if it would help you, you would have to put aside your bias (however justified) against the pharmaceutical industry and try it. If you stopped using all products that are produced by corporations who serve the profit motive above their customers, what would be left? I understand if you think trying medication is not worth the risk. If that's the case, you need to accept that that avenue if closed to you and just give up toying with the idea. Else, try it.

Finally, it is alright for you to crash every now and then. We all do. It is human and it is to be expected. It is not the end of the world, nor does it reflect negatively on your ACT practice. If you can accept each crash as "it is what is is" and move on as quickly as possible, that's what ACT is all about. Whether it involved the police, hospital, or anything short of jumping off a bridge, it's what happened and your only choice is acceptance. I've been there, too (well, not the jumping off the bridge part!). I understand your wanting to figure out what happened so you can avoid future crashes, and it's OK to see if you can identify the thoughts and actions that led up to it so you can learn from that. But you seem to view the crash as though it shouldn't have happened. Not true.

Best,

Helena

Living in a valued direction

The pursuit of a valued direction is portrayed to be the way out of the `mind trap'(the direction towards contentment/valued living) and I understand that defusion, self-as-context and acceptance are also tools for working with life struggles. My question is, how much does one have to do to gain long-term benefit?The question comes from a conversation my therapist had with me about medication. I am totally adverse to pharmaceutical med's, mainly because of the corporate greed and their phony studies and marketing strategies. *Sigh*. Anyway, I did everything humanly possible to follow my values. I took heed to Kaivey's brain elasticity and practiced the guitar, juggling, suduko, designing and drawing and brain training. Woo hoo but still nothing I could see. I worked on my body with yoga and good food. I met a very nice author. I performed at a poetry slam. I attended my school classes (mindfully). I socialised a little. I had dinner with a new ladies group. Oh, and I went camping with my daughter.Gosh I get it, really. We have to make things happen despite the `mind trap' but regardless of all that I did this month, this crash resulted in a medico/police visit. Not one of my more elegant moments. Is medication really the only way out?