CS1 presentation Durham Symposium 15-17 Oct 2014

1. Coping With Difficult Life-Stories
October 2014
Dr Ross White
Senior Lecturer
Mental Health and Well-being
University of Glasgow
Ross.White@glasgow.ac.uk

2. The Eight Primary Emotions
Plutchik (1980)

3. The Eight Primary Emotions
1) Ecstasy
2) Admiration
3) Terror
4) Amazement
5) Grief
6) Loathing
7) Rage
8) Vigilance

4. The Eight Primary Emotions
1) Ecstasy*
2) Admiration*
3) Terror
4) Amazement
5) Grief
6) Loathing
7) Rage
8) Vigilance

6. Coping with difficult life stories
• Remember a recent time when….

7. Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory
as the wish to forget it – Michel de Montaigne

8. The mind is not always a friend

9. For a long time it seemed to me that life was
about to begin -- real life.
But there was always some obstacle in the
way, something to be got through first, some
unfinished business, time still to be served, a
debt to be paid. Then life would begin.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles
were my life - Alfred D'Souza

12. Being more flexible…
• ‘Psychological flexibility’ has been defined as the
ability to contact the present moment more fully
as a conscious human being and to either change
behaviour, or persist, when doing so serves
valued ends (Wilson & Murrell, 2005).
• Knowing what is important and taking steps to
connect with this.
• Noticing the thoughts and feelings accompanying
life stories without being trapped by them.

13. Sometimes struggling gets us nowhere

14. Letting go of the struggle might help

15. We can work really hard to be happier

16. But maybe it is about taking the time to
notice what is happening now

17. The Present Moment:
‘Be Here Now’
Defusion:
‘Watch Your Thinking’
Acceptance:
‘Open Up’
Values: ‘Clarify What
Matters’
Committed Action:
‘Do What Works’
Self as context:
‘Know Yourself’
The ACT Model
Mindfulness
Psychological
Flexibility

18. Be present, be open
Mind fully aware

19. The Fallibility of Memory
How good a historian about our own lives are
we?
• Memory from the past.
(Exercise)

20. Thoughts and emotions that we
experience might be very upsetting

21. But noticing that these are
experiences and not facts can help

22. Book Exercise
Allowing difficult life stories to be

23. Seeing thoughts as…thoughts
We can see our thoughts for what they actually are:
• Thoughts are merely sounds, words, stories, bits of
language, passing through our heads.
• Thoughts may or may not be true. We do not
automatically believe them.
• Thoughts are not orders. We do not have to obey them
• No thought, no matter how unpleasant, should be a
threat to us
• Thoughts may or may not be wise. We do not
automatically follow their advice.
• We do not have to get caught up in reacting to them.

24. Playing with the language of life stories
• Using ‘I think’
• ‘Computer screen’ exercise: Think of a painful
thought, and buy into it for a few seconds.
Imagine you can see it on a computer screen.
Change the font and colour of the words on the
screen. Change the formatting of the words,
space the words out, bunch them together, etc.
Animate the words, like on Sesame Street. Finally
imagine a ‘bouncing ball’ jumping form word to
word, as in a karaoke ‘sing-along’.

25. Reading between the lines of our ‘difficult life’
stories

27. Values
I want to dedicate my life to…
• Connecting with nature
• Creating beauty (in any domain, including arts, dancing,
gardening)
• Being loyal to friends, family and/or my group
• Helping others
• Gaining wisdom and a mature understanding of life
• Promoting justice and caring for the weak
• Being honest
• Being sexually desirable
• Having genuine and close friends

28. Seeing through the ‘coffee table of life’

29. Difficult life stories matter
Distress & Values
If we did not value something we would not get
distressed about it.
What values sit beneath our distress?

31. Coping with difficult life stories
A) Notice the distressing life stories and how
they can make us feel.
‘I am a disappointment to other people and I
feel sad.’

32. Coping with difficult life stories
B) Notice how attempts to avoid difficult life
stories with certain might not be that helpful in
the long-term.
‘I drink alcohol to forget about being a
disappointment to other people. But this is
bringing chaos to my life.’

33. Coping with difficult life stories
C) Find the valuable messages that our distress
might be communicating to us about what is
important in our lives.
‘Receiving the respect and admiration of other
people is important to me.’

34. Coping with difficult life stories
D) Cope with distress and still engage in
behaviours that are in keeping with what they
regard as important in their lives.
‘Even though I feel anxious, I can choose to
interact with other people in a way that invites
respect and admiration from them’

35. Coping with difficult life stories
• Too often we can find ourselves wishing away
the distress that we experience.
• But this means that we end up wishing our
lives away.
• And making decisions that may not serve our
best interests in the long-run.

36. Questions/Comments

38. References
• Association for Contextual Behavioural Science: http://www.contextualscience.org
• Baer, R.A. (2003). Mindfulness Training as a Clinical Intervention: A Conceptual and Empirical
Review. Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 10: 125–143.
• Ciarrochi, J.V. & Bailey, A. (2008). A CBT-Practitioner's Guide to ACT: How to Bridge the Gap
Between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Oakland,
CA. New Harbinger Publications .
• Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple: An easy to read primer on Acceptance and Commitment
Therapy. New harbinger Press.
• Hayes, S. C. Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The
Process and Practice of Mindful Change. New York: Guilford Press.
• Twohig, M.P. (2012). Introduction: The basics of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Cognitive and Behavioural Practice, 19, 499-507
• http://contextualscience.org/david_gillanders_training_page