Czy zdarza ci się myśleć, że jesteś człowiekiem w pewien sposób wybrakowanym i bezwartościowym? Czy wykazujesz przesadną wrażliwość na wszelkie formy krytyki, a zarazem czujesz skrępowanie, słysząc komplement lub pochwałę? Czy masz wrażenie, że większość ludzi radzi sobie z życiem lepiej niż ty?
Poczucie, że jest się gorszym od innych i niedopasowanym, często ma źródło w negatywnych doświadczeniach z dzieciństwa. Jeśli zdarzyło ci się dorastać w bardzo krytycznym, obwiniającym czy karzącym otoczeniu, to być może uważasz, że nie zasługujesz na miłość, a także odczuwasz silny wstyd z powodu rzekomych własnych wad. Deprecjonujesz siebie i pozwalasz innym, by czynili to samo. Masz przeświadczenie, że przeszkodą w budowaniu satysfakcjonujących relacji, znalezieniu szczęścia i osiągnięciu sukcesu w życiu jest jakaś twoja wewnętrzna skaza. Ciągle się obawiasz, że ludzie ją odkryją i uznają cię za osobę niekompetentną oraz niewartą szacunku. W efekcie często odczuwasz wstyd z powodu tego, kim jesteś. Bez względu na twoje sukcesy, troskę ze strony przyjaciół, pomyślny rozwój zawodowy czy miłość rodziny poczucie wadliwości ciągle w tobie istnieje i wydaje się odporne na wszelkie pozytywne doświadczenia życiowe, jakie stają się twoim udziałem. Jak się uwolnić od podtrzymujących je szkodliwych przekonań?
Autorzy – odwołując się do zasad terapii schematów oraz terapii akceptacji i zaangażowania – proponują sprawdzone metody leczenia ran z dzieciństwa, przeformułowania własnej historii i zwrócenia się ku własnym wartościom i celom. Pomogą ci odkryć, co ma dla ciebie największe znaczenie, i to będzie cię motywować do zmiany. Nauczysz się uwalniać z pułapek myślowych, które sprawiają, że przytłacza cię przygnębienie, poczucie beznadziei i zablokowania. Poznasz sposoby rozwijania elastyczności psychologicznej oraz uwalniania się od ograniczających cię przekonań i niezdrowych stylów radzenia sobie. Spojrzysz na siebie z życzliwością i współczuciem, co stanowi doskonałe antidotum na nadmierny samokrytycyzm.
Matthew McKay, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, and author of more than 30 professional psychology and self-help books which have sold a combined total of more than 3 million copies. He is co-founder of independent self-help publisher, New Harbinger Publications. He was the clinical director of Haight Ashbury Psychological Services in San Francisco for twenty five years. He is current director of the Berkeley CBT Clinic. An accomplished novelist and poet, his poetry has appeared in two volumes from Plum Branch Press and in more than sixty literary magazines. His most recent novel, Wawona Hotel, was published by Boaz Press in 2008.
Definitely a helpful resource for those looking to work through their shame and depression. It offers excellent advice and exercises to help the reader along on their journey. Triggers, coping skills, etc.
Though I have never really struggled with depression, I have struggled with the shame of not feeling like enough, which lead me to perfectionist and high achiever tendencies, which I finally overcame some years ago. But memories from past trauma still haunt me from time to time, causing distress and anxiety to arise on occasion, so I picked up this book.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a powerful tool to overcome shame, depression and trauma. I can’t give this book anything less than five stars because it is practical, useful, comprehensive, well written and expertly formatted for the practitioner or the person looking for progressive healing. The worksheets are helpful and constructive tools to help you recognize a schema that leads to your distress.
If you are ready to accept negative stimuli and mindfully defuse your reaction to them, or if you work with clients who need this process facilitated for them, I would highly recommend this book to you.
The book is presented in a very organized and easy to read fashion for either counselors to guide their clients in its use or for self-inspired consumers to use themselves. Anyone looking to explore reasons for hesitations in their lives, for anyone who questions self-worth or their own potential, or for those who want to improve their ability to overcome shame, this workbook is supportive and helpful. As a licensed counselor in training and one married to a licensed counselor, we found it supportive in our intrapersonal, as well as interpersonal, communication, particularly related to past disappointments in each of our lives.
I got a digital galley of the book via NetGalley and loved the book. As someone who has been struggling with depression for a long time, I can say with confidence that this is a book that did help me understand how depression works and how to keep the same at bay. The biggest take away is for me to start working on my values and the importance of journalling.
If you are or know someone who is struggling with depression, this book is highly recommended.
Ini buku pertama mengenai ACT atau Acceptance and Commitment Therapy yang saya tuntaskan. Saya pikir, dalam Islam, istilahnya adalah "sabar" yang kalau diperinci berarti "rida akan ketetapan Allah dan menjalaninya dengan istikamah beramal saleh." Berulang-ulang buku ini menyatakan agar pembaca menerima bahwa pikiran/perasaan buruk akan selalu ada, hidup bisa jadi tidak akan pernah baik-baik saja, tetapi kita mesti punya value sebagai pegangan dan landasan untuk menentukan intention dan goal; yang kalau saya terjemahkan ke dalam istilah Islam berarti kita harus menerima bahwa selama hidup kita akan terus mendapatkan "ujian" dari Allah yang dalam menjalaninya perlu berpegang pada "iman" yang perwujudannya berupa "niat" dan "amalan".
Kalau di buku Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Dummies ada macam-macam thinking errors, di buku ini ada defectiveness coping behaviors yang terutama ada 3, yaitu overcompensation, surrender, and avoidance. Ketiga tipe coping itu dapat diperinci lagi sehingga semuanya berjumlah 10 yang umum dialami (common). Seperti buku CBT for Dummies, dalam chapter-chapter berikutnya buku ini lalu menawarkan banyak teknik yang bisa digunakan untuk memperbaiki coping behaviors tersebut. Namun terlebih dahulu kita perlu meneguhkan value dalam domain-domain kehidupan yang kita anggap penting, sebelum menerjemahkannya jadi intention and goal di tiap-tiap domain itu. Ringkasnya, value merupakan tujuan abstrak sedangkan intention/goal cara konkret untuk mewujudkan tujuan abstrak itu.
Beberapa teknik sepertinya sudah saya temukan di Overcoming Avoidance Workbook. Karena banyaknya pula saya cenderung menarik intinya saja, terlebih jika cara tersebut telah biasa saya gunakan yaitu dengan menulis: baik catatan harian maupun fiksi. Buku-buku ini menyarankan untuk membuat jurnal, atau menuliskan secara semendetail mungkin (feelings, thoughts, sensations, impulses) setiap gejolak jiwa, pengalaman menyusahkan, dan semacamnya yang menjadi trigger, untuk kemudian menentukan resolusi atau cara positif dalam menghadapi situasi tersebut (that you have a choice). Untuk mengetahui yang seperti apakah "cara positif" itu, tentunya perlu ada input mengenai bagaimanakah sebaiknya bertindak; referensinya bisa dari ajaran agama, wawasan mengenai kehidupan sosial, ilmu komunikasi efektif, dan seterusnya.
Mau namanya thinking errors atau defectiveness coping behaviors, di Islam pun ada daftar tersendiri untuk masalah kejiwaan berikut "skilled response" yang perlu dikembangkan. Misal, ketika lagi merasa insecure atau hasad terhadap pencapaian orang lain, skilled response-nya adalah bersedekah untuk mengingatkan bahwa diri ini sesungguhnya masih memiliki kelebihan yang dapat diberikan kepada orang yang kurang daripada kita. "Skilled response" lain adalah dengan bertawakal: jika kita sungguh-sungguh menginginkan untuk memiliki pencapaian itu juga, maka berusahalah diiringi dengan doa yang persisten.
Ini workbook ketiga yang saya selesaikan tahun ini, kali ini dalam kurang lebih 2,5 bulan menghasilkan coret-coretan tangan sepanjang lebih dari 19 halaman kertas F4. Mengerjakan workbook semacam ini cukup membosankan, kadang-kadang berat. Apalagi kalau suasana hati sedang baik-baik saja, saya malas mengorek-ngorek berbagai hal yang mungkin masih wrong. Like, I don't wanna think over it (= overthinking) no more. Dah lah, let it be let it go kata lagu-lagu juga. Kegagalan dalam mencapai goal berdasarkan value tertentu juga tidak mesti menjadi akhir kehidupan, sebab dalam pemulihan mungkin saja kita malah menemukan value baru yang dari situ mengembangkan goal baru yang lebih sesuai dengan kondisi unik kita. Apalagi jika value tersebut masih dapat saya temukan landasannya dalam agama, bahkan menambahkan pemahaman saya.
Makanya dalam mengerjakan workbook semacam ini biasanya banyak hari yang bolong. Di sisi lain, ini kesempatan untuk mendalami masalah-masalah yang tidak sempat diuraikan di sesi journaling yang cuma 20 menit/hari. Dalam sesi yang terbatas itu, biasanya saya cuma sempat memerinci kegiatan yang telah/mau dilakukan serta hal-hal lain yang baru di permukaan. Ini juga cara untuk mengecek kesehatan mental secara berkala, memantau perkembangan jiwa secara terpandu. Poin-poinnya menjadi pemantik untuk menilik lagi berbagai masalah dan menentukan resolusi.
The ACT Workbook for Depression & Shame is written by psychologists Matthew W. McKay, Michael Jason Greenberg, and Patrick J. Fanning. It’s based on acceptance and commitment therapy and focused on addressing the defectiveness schema in depression.
The book begins and ends with a series of several self-assessment questionnaires to let you see how much progress you’ve made while working through the book.
Quite a few worksheets are included in the book. These are simply laid out, and clear examples are provided. The example scenarios included in the text were relatively lengthy; I would have preferred it if they were a bit shorter.
A key concept mentioned throughout the book was defensive coping behaviours. These behaviours served a purpose at the time, but continue even after they’re no longer helpful. The book notes that they often fall within the categories of overcompensation, surrender, and avoidance. It explains that “When you follow the urge to engage in the DCB, you reduce your pain in the moment, but this ensures that your defectiveness remains unchallenged.”
One of the strategies the authors suggest is “creative hopelessness,” which means recognizing that what you’re doing isn’t working, so it’s time to come up with something new.
There’s a chapter on mindfulness that ties into defense coping behaviours, including work on identifying the moments when you choose to use a defensive coping behaviour. There’s also a chapter on values, and defensive coping behaviours are framed as taking you away from your values. Other topics covered included cognitive defusion, avoidance, self-compassion, and relapse planning.
I felt an immediate sense of pushback to this bit:
“You became depressed because your life evolved into being about avoiding shame and defectiveness feelings. You became less and less the person you wanted to be as you engaged in more avoidance and more DCBs. There is the basic choice in life: doing what matters, doing what you care about, or having your days focused on trying to escape pain.”
I could rant, but I’ll skip that. Other than that, though, there wasn’t anything else that was cringe-inducing for me.
Given that I’m a fan of ACT, and I was really impressed by Matthew McKay’s other book, the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook, I had high expectations for this book. In the end, for me, it didn’t live up to those expectations. The book isn’t terrible by any means; it just wasn’t a standout for me.
I received a reviewer copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
This book is definitely a helpful resource for those looking to work through shame and depression. The book does have thought provoking exercises and advice for the reader. Shame is something that is very prevalent in many people's lives though rarely talked about work worked through. This book is an excellent tool for groups or individuals in counseling also. If I was a counselor, I would have no problems using this book or referring it to clients to help navigate through unwanted feelings of depression and shame. These books are important, and mental health needs to be something constantly addressed by society. Books like this one are also a great alternative for those who don't feel comfortable going to counseling, or do not have the financial means to do so.
I’ve recently read The ACT Workbook for Depression & Shame by Matthew McKay, PhD, Michael Jason Greenberg, PsyD, & Patrick Fanning. This is quite a weighty book in scope & subject matter, so it’s not an easy read. It’s a helpful read & workbook for people who are ready to dig deep into themselves and work to better understand how they work & the influences they’re feeling. I’m a fan of workbooks because the active nature of going through them and I think this one could be very helpful for the right person.
Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
I think that anyone who suffers from depression, should read this book. It has many exercises and it talks about coping skills. I can see myself going through this book again so I can work on the exercises. The kindle version is a little harder than the actual book, because you don't have a place to write or keep track of your answers. You have to write them down instead. I don't have any complaints about this book, and I thank netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.
This is a great book for those seeking advice and techniques to monitor their mental health and help themselves. The book also features helpful exercises, lists, and worksheets for coping behaviors, coping skills, emotional responses, triggers, self-assessment etc. that can be used by both counselors with their patients and people who don't feel comfortable going to therapy or are not able to. I enjoyed reading about the concept of creative hopelessness, acceptance and mindfulness too.
(ARC provided by the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)
Overall this is a helpful workbook with lots of practical tips and ideas to help overcome negative thoughts. I like the worksheets and the examples it gives on how to apply the strategies to your life. I especially like the "defusion" techniques for help dealing with worry and self-judging thoughts.
Psychologists wrote the ACT workbook, and it is an easy to maneuver book whether you are an aspiring counselor or needing to work through your own depression.