Tools for mental brakes: 1. Mindfulness; observe your thoughts as if they are clouds passing by. 2. Give your mind a name; it's a way of creating distance from the narrative of mind. 3. Repeat the negative word really fast for 30 seconds. The word will lose its meaning. It's opposite of deja vu - jamais vu. 4. Give the mental narrative a funny voice; the main idea is to create a sense of separation.

Self-help and Behavioral Health recovery 101: We are not our thoughts. Beautiful and illuminating speech. Thank you, Dr. Steven Hayes.

What a LOVING, CARING, & *BEAUTIFULLY-GIFTED speaker this man is!! I'm blown away by his ability to make such difficult & complex issues so easily understood! Those 30 years of dedication are some of THE MOST VALUABLE IN HISTORY in regards to the knowledge & compassion that he has brought to humanity! With love & *deep respect! ... THANK you Sir!

you re changing my life, Steve. And my patients` too (I m a psychotherapist). Thank you.

My mom just died and I am beginning to burn out doing so much. I was skipping meals until I completed stuff and and tired from driving my dad around and dropping things off so we can cancel things. I am 35 but have a life that feels like a 60-year old. I put off doing laundry for so long that I started buying new items. No one dropped off food yet, and it has been a week since mom died. Local elections are Tuesday. My family flying from California aren't coming until later. And, my uncle's anniversary of his suicide is the day before mom's funeral this Friday. So much won't get done until I do it, but I might have help later. But, I cannot push it all off because I have no idea when my brothers are flying from California. They won't come until the tickets are the cheapest. They can't afford hotels and plane tickets, so they will stay with us. I am having to make room. The only way I am dealing is learning to slow down and listen to my own needs. It's hard to ask people for help, because I don't know what to ask. I am just doing my best. Listening to things like this helps.

This Ted Talk from Steven Hayes is superb. I have seen similar talks where he is more engaging because it was personal, but this is the most useful one I have seen so far because he showed you (1) the powerful influence ( and science) of language, (2) the moment of that influence, and (3) multiple, practical ways of dealing with these events. I have never heard this explained so clearly in such a short period of time. If you are a scientist, notice the importance of RFT. If you are religious, notice there is more to what you notice than who you think you are. If you meditate, this is another way to consider what you have already noticed is quite important.

ACT enables me to live the life I want. Thank you Steven for all your research and work. It's literally been life-changing.

Thank you for Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT). I tried various cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but they did more harm than good in stressful situations. I ended up fusing my thoughts so often I trained myself to have general anxiety disorder and panic attacks. ACT and a few other things helped me reduce and eliminate panic. You do fantastic science that saves lives and helps recover from mental suffering.

hi Steve I followed your link and watched this and did the exercise at the end and I wept with relief. thank you. the power of the internet, I would have had to travel miles and pay a therapist a mucho dinero to get anywhere near what I experienced. today is the day in my life that I know I have found the right path, thank you from the bottom of my heart my friend.

My therapist assigned me this TEDTalk. I’ve been working through some really rough stuff and my time in counseling is in its infancy. I was not ready for the breakthrough I would have at the end of the video and I can’t wait to share. My younger self would be both excited and appalled with me. Excited because of where I am and appalled that I ever even have the inkling of an idea that I am not doing the best I can. I bawled like a baby. This was fantastic

I've watched this twice already. So righteous.

Oh my goodness. I cried through most of that. Thank you for doing the thing. And what a storyteller you are too.

I LOVE this TED talk so much...I’ve seen it so many times. I love the ideas in it and also how it’s presented; Steven is knowledgeable, kind, and funny. Thank you for posting :)

love Steven already

Very beautiful, down-to-earth presentation by a wise guy 🍀👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 thank you Steve.

I just finished reading Dr Hayes book A Liberated Mind. Good stuff. I’m already using the tools to tackle my anxiety.

Genius! Thank you Dr. Hayes for your inspiring talk! Fighting with anxiety i can tell coming onto practice is not as easy as it sounds but does do the work... Thats how our mind worka indeed from time to time and thats when we have to put the breaks on! It scares me a bit that ita a lifetime journey though (thats my mind speaking now) but i hope i can turn my life towards values and volunteerism where i think i find happiness most otherwise without my panic attacks i would be intersted in just being a modern way of life fashion victim! Thank you again Dr..

Thank you. This helps a lot with my panic disorder. I watched Psychological Flexibility first and then this one and I feel hope. I have always hidden my injured child away - shaming her for her weakness, but after watching, I sat back and listened. I looked at a picture of myself as a child, closed my eyes - and embraced her. I felt her tears on my cheeks; her pain in my heart. When I was 13 (over 30 years ago years ago) I wrote: Hide in yourself - don't let anyone see - who you are or what you want to be. Hide your thoughts - don't let them show - Just paint on a smile - no one will know. Do I have love deep inside - and if I do why does it hide. I want to look into your eyes and see you understand. I want the warmth of love - Please come take my hand. Doctor Hayes, I looked into your eyes and saw you understood. Today I suffer from PTSD, agoraphobia, avoidance, co-dependency, panic disorder, battered women's syndrome, and phobias. I've allowed these things to control my life experience. Is there any way to use this technique for PTSD? I feel I have no control of the flashbacks. They hit me like a storm. Is there a way to stop them from happening using ACT?

Thanks Steve! Awesome metaphors, wonderfully expressed in such a short time frame! Very impactful!

Four years later I still remember the numbers 😂

I think this Ted talk just changed my life. Thank you Steven Hayes & George :)

Best talk! Thank you Dr. Steven Hayes.

Dr. Steven Hayes, you are phenomenal! ❤ Thanks for helping me especially for putting the mental brake! Best ever!!🎉

These strategies will actually work! Life changing advice, thank you.

excellence! incredible speech, the calmed way of speaking, it was mesmerizing!

The best ted talks i've heard. Maybe the only useful and practical one that worth my time. Thanks.

“Give your mind a name.” Brilliant

He is so great..

Excellent, inspiring, helpful.

Now I'm hungry for hats.

I love your work which gives me so much hope x.

Thank you so much for this information. Amazing, helpful and life changing.

Yes. You are of use. tks. again. Mr. Hayes.

I absolutely looooove this!!! Best TED Talk I’ve ever seen. Your video will help me help others for sure. Thank you💛

Absolutely beautiful presentation. Thanks Steven Hayes, this gives us hope and the motivation to get unstuck.

me too...I love Steve already!

Excelente. Gracias

Thank you VERY MUCH ! Works like a charm 

During the talk I was already feeling better, even without yet trying it out. It's good to have hope.

This is one of the best talks i´ve listened to,when it comes to helping you´re self... Right now i´m going through a difficult time,and these "tricks" to actually put down the brake, just helps me so much. Just have to figure out what to name my mind haha! :D

Brilliant video Steven Hayes.. Thanks for the tools and the keeping it simple approach.. You replied off a comment I made on your other tedx talk recommending looking for your other tedx talk (this one I presume).. Thanks again for that and all your work you ate doing which is helping and helpful to peoples lives..

Excellent. Thanks Steve 🙏

Excellent!

Thank you so much.

Thanks Steven :) !

thank you!

INCREIBLE

Thank you Steve for this nice and interesting explanation of RFT (and ACT)

Very insightful.

Loved it!

Thank you Sir.

A wonderful and personal summary of RFT, and combined with the other TEDTalk about psychological flexibility, a perfect introduction to ACT. Thank you Dr. Hayes, I will surely share it with my colleagues (and some clients). I deeply admire your work and the huge contributions you (and your colleagues) are doing to the whole field of psychology and psychotherapy. A big step forwards towards a more wise, efficacious and humanistic therapy.

This is so helpful for me to watch.

May be my favourite ted talk, one of the best, very well done, I like him

Extremely useful video, thank you very much.

Thank you for this Steven & TED. It was recommended to me by a therapist from the Southwark (London) CBT Online team. Great pooling of resources and an excellent model the NHS and global health collaboration. They say life doesn't come with an instruction manual but this diagnostic tool for the brain should be given out at birth!

Genius! Amazing talk

this vid should be taught to everybody 💝

I really enjoyed this!

Thank you!

thank you for this talk, it is really helpful. gracias

Excelente Tx.

Great and helpful talk from a true great- in Steven C Hayes❤

As usually great.

Thank you sir ! Thanks for sharing ! I learned from it. It heals me on the spot after i named her "George" ! Thank you !

Tools for mental brakes: The main idea is to create a sense of separation. 1. Mindfulness; pin your thoughts on clouds or cars, which are passing by 2. Give your mind a name; it's a way of creating distance from the narrative of mind. 3. Repeat the negative word really fast for 30 seconds. The word will lose its meaning. It's opposite of deja vu - jamais vu. 4. Give the mental narrative a funny voice 5. Sing the mental narrative 6. Write the thought or adjective on your tshirt or desktop background 7. Imagine yourself as a little child saying it

thank you george

what a fantastic video ....gives me hope to help understand my psychotic paranoid schizophrenic temporal lobe epileptic son ( how those psychiatrists love their lables )

From a plumber to army man to astronaut to psychologist, this man has impressive skills.

Dr. Hayes, I have found these strategies helpful in coping with rumination. I find I am no longer bothered by many things that used to pain me for too long. Bonus, as an aspiring behavior analyst, I have found that I can let a lot of the stresses at work go at the drop of a dime. I'd love to read some research on how these strategies help those with rumination, can you point me in the right direction? Further, is there any research on how professionals can use these strategies to copy with work stress?

I had to wait 6 years and a lot of searching to find this perfectly timed video. Thank you, 1 2 3, $10,000? LOL

He seems so sweet

One thing I don't understand with ACT is that sometimes thoughts are abstract and don't have language triggers - or that there is no single word that sums up a difficult encounter and so on...

Incredible, real tools!!! 👍 Hats off to this Gentleman!🍶🥛 I'm currently watching every video he's in on KZfaq. Time very well spent if you ask me! 😊😊😊

gracias

thank you！

Love this video suggestion your calculator example should be explained in more reality like useing a old school type writer do to the fact those do not have a deleat botton of which a calculator dose have a deleat and back/ clear botton

This talk by Gordon Craven is brilliant

Brilliant. Thank you!

Life-changing 💝

Here's one I discovered-- Look at yourself in the mirror and make silly/mad/sad/goofy faces at yourself, until you just have to laugh.

every time someone mentions donuts or hats, you know what I’ll be thinking of

고마워요

That I’m balalalalad is so cute haha!

I am not my thoughts and I don't have to defend them.

I could go for some milk with my hats.

Question: When you say 'your mind' could you say "the brain"? Luv your message Mr. Hayes.

Thank you!!!

He is a good actor :-)

Wow! 😶🥲

"Hold the paper up to the light. Some waves pass right through." -Talking Heads

"Cats and dogs can't do that." Billi: "MAD"

your amzing

Seems like you used a different style to your other TED talk in this one. I found the first powerful and profound and this one extremely practical. I loved both. I did a workshop with a football team last week on cognitive defusion and it would have been handy to see this beforehand. I could have spread even more metaphors around! I'm coming to your talk in London in September. I can't wait.

4:56 He said "Doo-doo." 😅

I’m honny

~ Steven Hayes Or NEVER Mind!!!

Who knew Uncle Fester was a brilliant psychologist?

“Our secrets are the same secrets”

Funny and clever😍