ACT therapy resources ?

June 12, 2020 6:38 AM

I have started seeing a therapist to deal with my severe fear and anxiety, triggered by the current situation. She's using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She's helping me a lot but I can only see her a limited number of times due to the cost, so I hope I can find other resources out there to help me.

I've just downloaded a sample of the book "Things might go terribly, horribly wrong" by Kelly Wilson, after seeing it recommended here on AskMe.
I've also been working through The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, although I'm not sure if it's a good fit for me - it feels a bit too general.
I've found this guided meditation on accepting emotions I find guided meditation very helpful, and would like to find more of them that are specific to anxiety - or I have heard of a type of meditation where you practice compassion and kindness towards others? Not sure where to find that.
Any advice you have on how to come to terms with anxiety would be very much appreciated. I am struggling with the thing that I can get myself into a good enough space, but then the fear starts bubbling up again, as if a part of myself thinks that if I'm not constantly on the alert and aware of all the bad things that might happen, I won't be safe.
I'm going for a cycle every day and try to do that in a mindful way (aware of the beauty around me, not too much in my head). I've been eating more regularly. I've even managed to get some writing done every day. But I'm terrified I'm going to lose control of the fear and that it will burn me up.
Sources for soothing, happy videos and podcasts also very much needed. I found the "Nothing much happens" podcast extremely soothing and helpful - somebody recommended it to me in my last AskMe question,thank you very much for that.
Thank you in advance, and I hope that you are doing okay, despite these scary times.

posted by Zumbador to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

I give a lot of praise to Dr. Steven Hayes' books/videos/etc. His workbook in particular, "Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life," may be a great complement to your therapy practice. I started using it about a year and a half ago and it's still a routine part of my self-directed work in ACT. I saw my therapist weekly for about a year, now I see him once every three weeks. This workbook has been a handy way to keep myself doing the work in between those visits.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 7:24 AM on June 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

Hugs to you. Insight Timer is an app that has a lot of guided meditations. Some of them focus on self-compassion, others on metta meditation (loving-kindness meditation).
posted by jilloftrades at 10:36 AM on June 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

Insight Timer mediations I go to when anxious:
Lisa Machac's Calming the Worried Mind
Medha Murtagh's Dealing with Challenging Emotions
posted by Jesse the K at 11:17 AM on June 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

Here are a bunch of ACT videos, curated by ACBS (Association for Contextual Behavioral Science). In general Russ Harris and Steven Hayes are leaders in ACT with some good videos and great books (and articles).
posted by dreamphone at 2:01 PM on June 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

My therapist recommended the free “Covid Coach” app published (perhaps surprisingly) by the VA To address much of what you’re going through — I like it so far
posted by shaademaan at 2:04 PM on June 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

I posted about ACT on the blue a few months ago and linked to a bunch of resources, videos, books, etc. in case that's helpful.
posted by soonertbone at 2:17 PM on June 15, 2020 [1 favorite]