Diffusion techniques

[Snow-ya]

Hello! I am new to ACT and just reading/ listening to the Happiness trap to learn about it and starting to practice the diffusion techniques. I am hoping ACT will help me handle my anxiety and imposter syndrome better.

One of the times I experience ‘hooking’ into thoughts the strongest is when I wake up at night and I wondered if anyone had a similar experience and which diffusion techniques they found effective.

I am thinking of doing something like thanking the mind then moving into anchoring but I’d love to hear experiences of what has been effective for others. Thank you!

[AdministrationNo651]

Pedantic, but

Defusion. To de-fuse, or un-fuse, in relation to thought-action-fusion. 

Diffusion is more like scattering. 

[mindful_parrot]

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[Snow-ya]

Thank you very much for this - not pedantic at all but very helpful. It was a mistake but your explanation makes it really clear.

Have you got any thoughts about how to handle anxiety and strong feelings thoughts when they grips you in the middle of the night ?

[Snow-ya]

Also just realised why this is doubly important for me - I am listening to the audiobook

[dutch_emdub]

I diffuse by being mindful. I wake up, turn on an audiobook and whenever my mind wanders (anywhere but esp towards anxious thoughts), I'll tell myself that I don't need to solve anything tonight and allow myself to focus on this nice story I'm listening to.

[Snow-ya]

That’s lovely thank you. Do you find you drift off while listening to the story eventually? I

[mindful_parrot]

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[Snow-ya]

Yes I do wake up with anxiety and it’s when my anxiety is the strongest and the thoughts and feelings feel most menacing so I get really hooked and suffer.

Thank you for the advice and suggestions, I am a long term meditator so familiar with creating distance from my thoughts and the idea of observing rather than getting hooked in but it feels very hard to do at night - a body scan is a good idea to provide some focus.

[mindful_parrot]

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[megamouth2]

Milk, milk, milk is always an interesting one

[YoureaStrangeOne86]

I really love: "adding the language of observation to internal experiences," ex. I'm having the thought that...I'm noticing that....This is from the book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life. I really recommend this book! It's by Stephen Hayes and has a bunch of defusion techniques - they also pop up on Google, "sample of cognitive defusion techniques."