Psychological rigidity or inflexibility is the opposite of psychological flexibility. It refers to a rigid or stuck pattern of responding to thoughts, emotions, and situations, which can lead to psychological distress and hinder personal growth. When someone is psychologically inflexible, they may have difficulty adapting to new circumstances, managing difficult emotions, and making choices aligned with their values.
Here are the opposites of the ACT processes for flexibility described previously:
Experiential avoidance is engaging in behaviors to escape, avoid, or suppress unwanted thoughts, emotions, sensations, or situations instead of seeing them as normal passing experience. When we choose to avoid these types of situations, we are refusing to let them be. In our attempts to avoid pain, or “make it all go away”, often opting for less painful short-term actions that only compounds the experience in the long-term. The process to address this is acceptance, meaning allowing space for the experience or a willingness to experience it.
Cognitive fusion is identifying strongly with one’s thoughts and believing them to be true and accurate reflections of reality, without considering alternative perspectives. They are “hooked” or “stuck” in their thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs. ACT addresses this with cognitive defusion techniques (defusion) to help see those thoughts and aid in “unhooking” from them, especially if they are not useful or problematic. To be fused to something is to be out of touch with the world of direct experience.
Dominance of the conceptualized past and feared future describes the propensity we have for our minds to ‘time travel’ to the past (rumination – could haves) and future (worry – what ifs). In order to make contact with the present moment we must actively notice what is going on internally and externally. Without this contact with the present moment, we lack our full potential for self-knowledge and self-awareness. ACT teaches skills to help individuals contact the present moment.
Attachment to the conceptualized self describes how we can see ourself as our thoughts. ACT helps an individual see the self-as-context, that is how a person responds in different settings by being able to see the personal narratives. When we fuse with our self-description, it seems as if we are that description. Along with the self-description comes a set of automatic programs which we developed as another person, in a different place and time which worked. Now these responses are not working any longer.
Lack of values clarity describes how problems can stem from becoming disconnected from what truly matters to us. Clarifying and then behaving in ways that are consistent with our values is a fundamental process of ACT. It is especially emphasized with FACT. When we do not take the time to identify our values and mold our behaviors to be in line with those values, we miss out on the opportunity to use our values as a guide or compass for our actions. Aligning with our values increases our motivation to be willing to be with an uncomfortable experience and when done in small steps, builds a better sense of confidence and self-worth.
Inaction, impulsivity, unworkable action, or avoidance persistence describe patterns of behavior that allow us to “check out” from the present moment and “stay stuck” in patterns that, while familiar, are known to be self-defeating or self-destructive. They pull us away from what matters most in the long run. When we choose to act in ways that reactive, impulsive, or automatic, we are taking a step away from present-focused, intention-based, mindful living. ACT encourages committed action in the service of our values.
In a more classic sense psychological rigidity is often characterized by:
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