The Use of Contact with the Present Moment in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

This is the third in a series of posts about the 6 Core Processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I utilize ACT with many of my clients because I find it to be a helpful framework for getting to the root of 2 things: 

1. What is really bothering someone
2. What they can DO about it.

It’s no secret that the acronym for Acceptance and Commitment therapy is the verb ACT, because there is a strong belief that doing things is the way that a person gets to have a rich, full, and meaningful life, even if that life is at times painful, frustrating, or disappointing. In this way, all 6 processes of ACT involve doing something (even if that doing is making a list, thinking carefully, or meditating). The third process (even though they aren’t generally listed in a specific order) is Contacting the Present Moment.

My Mind Wanders

I have a confession. My attention span stinks. It’s really bad. I have an urge to check my phone frequently while doing other things. When I am at a computer, I’ll have a dozen or more tabs open and click between them, getting nothing in particular accomplished for long stretches of time. I can’t remember the last time I sat through a movie at home without pausing it or rewinding to replay some part I missed because I was spacing out. It’s taken me way too long to even write this simple paragraph! I swear my attention span was better 20 years ago when I was a teenager than it is now. You might be asking, “What happened!?” Trust me, I ask myself the same question, and I’m not quite sure. My attention span is a source of great personal embarrassment and frustration. But this post isn’t meant to be an autopsy of my attention span. It’s about explaining and sharing what works for me to jumpstart my focus and help me be more present. Please bear with me and follow along with the directions for this next part

The Body Scan

Get comfortable. Sit with your back supported in your chair, and your feet flat and sturdy on the ground. Do whatever feels natural with your hands. Now, take a long, slow, deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for a moment and feel the air filling your lungs and expanding your chest and diaphragm. Exhale through your mouth like you are blowing a bubble, slow and controlled. Are you paying attention to your body? Or is your mind wandering to the next task you need to do, what’s for dinner, a mistake you made earlier, or what you want to watch on TV later? Whatever is going through your mind, let it linger there for a moment. Gently guide your attention back to your body.

Starting from the top of your head and moving downward, scan each part of your body for any pain, tension, fatigue, pressure, or tingling. Simply notice the sensations without attempting to react to them or change them. This may take several minutes. 

Notice the muscles in your head and face. Notice your neck and shoulders supporting your head. Notice your arms, wrists, and hands. Notice your chest, back, and stomach supporting the rest of your body. Notice your hips and bottom sitting in your chair. Notice your legs, knees, ankles, and feet carrying your body and connecting to the floor. Gently push the soles of your feet into the floor, and imagine the floor pushing back and supporting you. Take a moment to gather any tension, pain, or stress in your body. Now, take a deep breath, and as you exhale, imagine that tension flowing out with your breath. Take notice of this feeling for a moment, and when you are ready, return to the room.

What you have just done is a mindfulness practice called a body scan. It is one of the most common and flexible mindfulness activities that I do to reset my brain and body to focus, and often have my clients do too. Many people find the body scan meditation to be helpful for relaxing, improving sleep, and being more aware of their thoughts and emotions.

Mindfulness & ACT

Taking time to be aware of the present moment and bring one’s attention to one’s thoughts is one of the 6 core processes of ACT. Russ Harris, the author of multiple books on ACT and a therapist, writes, “Contacting the present moment includes the world around us and inside us.” In ACT, the purpose of mindfulness exercises is not to achieve enlightenment, connect with a higher power, or practice spirituality. It is much more mundane (but achievable). 

Mindfully existing as yourself in the present moment is necessary to take decisive, meaningful actions within ACT. These actions can be as profound and important as moving across the country, marrying the love of your life, or changing careers, or they can be as normal as choosing your words, picking your breakfast, or deciding whether to drive or take the train. You can’t act on your values if you aren’t conscious of your values when making decisions (values are another ACT process for another time).

The Importance of Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a decades-long researcher, practitioner, and mindfulness expert, and the founder of the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, has a thorough definition of mindfulness, “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non- judgementally…And then I sometimes add, in the service of self-understanding and wisdom.”

In ACT, Harris agrees with this definition and is careful to point out that “Mindfulness is about awareness, not about thinking. Knowing it in the current moment is different than experiencing the current moment.”

Both of these definitions hinge on being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without trying to change them, think about them, or problem solve. Often mindfulness is really about doing less while doing it with openness, curiosity, and purpose. For people who are used to being on autopilot, practicing mindfulness can feel like “coming up for air”.

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself

Mindfulness can help you to become aware of problematic behaviors like substance use, self- harm, binge-eating, or gambling before you do them. You can use mindfulness to identify emotions and triggers for these behaviors, which can buy you time to do something else. Sometimes, mindfulness can result in the thought that your brain is tired and it wants a distraction. That’s ok too! Mindfulness is often referred to as a “practice” because it is not something you can perfect or master. Even people who have meditated daily for years will tell you that they are still trying to practice mindfulness.

Present Moment Awareness Activities

Here are other ways to practice mindfulness:

1. The Five Senses Technique – AKA 5-4-3-2-1. This exercise is great for when your thoughts feel overwhelming. Tune in to your environment and use each of your five senses. Look for 5 things you can see, 4 sounds you can hear, 3 objects you can touch, scents you can smell, and 1 thing you taste on your tongue.
2. Mindfully go for a walk. Pay attention to the length of your stride and the feeling of each footstep. Examine your surroundings. Try going out when the weather is pleasant and when it is lousy to practice noticing the difference.
3. Mindfully do the dishes, sweep the floor, or do some other minor chore. Pay attention to sensations of water on your hand or how it feels to push the broom. This is a great practice if you find yourself concerned with the result and skipping over the process.
4. Mindfully have a conversation with a friend or loved one. Intently focus on listening to the other person by paying attention to their words, body language, and tone of voice rather than waiting to speak. Take a moment to formulate a response and allow for pauses and stillness in the conversation. For a full explanation, here is a wonderful explanation of mindful listening.
5. Try to notice the space between your thoughts, or the spaces between physical objects. You can start this exercise by looking at a blank wall, or laying down outside and looking up at the sky. You might also try taking deep breaths and focusing on the moment between the inhale and exhale. Read this for more ideas on how to be mindful of the spaces between objects.

If you have been struggling with difficult thoughts, a lagging attention span, or a treadmill of worries about the future, ACT work – and Contact with the Present Moment – might truly be useful. If you are thinking about beginning therapy and have questions about ACT (or just want to see if working together might click), you can schedule a consultation call with me or another Serengeti therapist or me.

Sources:

Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment

therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications.

https://www.calm.com/blog/mindful-listening

https://www.mindful.org/a-guided-practice-to-notice-whats-present-and-what-isnt/