The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, for its acronym in English) is a form of psychological therapy that focuses on helping people accept and engage with their painful emotions and thoughts so that they can live a meaningful and fulfilling life. The creative hopelessness is a term used in ACT to describe a situation in which a person feels trapped in negative patterns of thinking and behavior that prevent them from moving forward.
To work the creative hopelessness in ACTseveral can be used metaphors. Below are some of them:
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The ship in the storm: This metaphor is used to describe the process of accepting and engaging with painful emotions and thoughts. The patient may be asked to imagine a boat in a storm and watch the waves rise and fall. The idea is that the patient learns to observe her emotions and thoughts in the same way that he observes the waves in the sea, without fighting against them or trying to change them.
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The slippery staircase: This metaphor is used to describe how negative patterns of thinking and behavior can lead a person to feel trapped in a difficult situation. The patient can be asked to imagine that she is climbing a very slippery staircase and that every time she tries to move forward, she slides down. The idea is that the patient learns to identify the negative patterns of thought and behavior that make him or her feel trapped and learns to change them to move toward his or her goals.
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The black cloud: This metaphor is used to describe how negative thoughts can affect a person’s mood. The patient may be asked to imagine a black cloud that follows him everywhere and affects her mood. The idea is that the patient learns to identify negative thoughts and learns to change them to improve her mood.
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The programmed robot: This metaphor is used to describe how negative behavioral patterns can be automatic and non-adaptive. The patient can be asked to imagine that he is a robot programmed to behave in certain ways in certain situations and that he does not have the ability to change his behavior. The idea is that the patient learns to identify negative behavior patterns and learns to change them to adapt to new and challenging situations.
In summary, the Acceptance and commitment therapy uses metaphors to help people understand and overcome creative hopelessness. These metaphors may include images of a ship in a storm, a slippery ladder, a black cloud, or a programmed robot. The idea is that these metaphors help the patient identify and change negative patterns of thinking and behavior to live a meaningful and fulfilling life.
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