ACT: stepping back and making room · worksheet 26
Your mind produces thoughts all day long, often to protect you. Some come back like an old song. Instead of arguing with them, you can recognise them and thank your mind.
Before you start
- What it is for: To recognise the thoughts and “stories” your mind often tells you, with some humour, without giving in to them.
- A few seconds each time the thought appears; 2 minutes in the evening to write it down, for a week.
- Your mind is trying to protect you, even if it sometimes does so with harsh sentences. “Thank you, mind” acknowledges the effort without obeying it.
- Say it kindly or with humour, never with irony against yourself.
Prefer paper? Download the PDF to print (with a page for psychologists).
What to do with your results
Look at the titles you have given them: a few stories repeat a lot. Recognising them quickly (“oh, the useless story”) is often enough to take some of their weight away.
If you find it hard
If “thank you, mind” sounds mocking to you, simply say “I notice this thought”. It is not a way of denying real suffering.
For psychologists
The PDF also includes a page for the psychologist: how to run the exercise in session, points to watch and scientific references. You are free to use it with your clients.
For psychologists: aim, audience and duration
Help the person step back from repetitive thoughts by recognising them as “products” of the mind, with some humour, instead of fighting or obeying them.
Self-critical thoughts, recurring worries, catastrophic scenarios known by heart. Adults and adolescents. Duration: 10 min in session, then in daily life.
References
Harris, R. (2019). ACT Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D. & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford.
These worksheets do not replace therapy. If you are in distress or having suicidal thoughts, call your local emergency number (112 in Europe; 3114 in France, free, 24/7).
Free worksheet for non-commercial use: you may share it with credit to the author, without modifying it (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence).
