Here recently it seems like everything just gets under my skin so quickly and easily. It’s not that I get mad and take it out on others, it’s just the fact that I’m constantly annoyed and stressed. Something as simple as the dogs tracking some mud through the house will just ruin my mood. I know some people who would just laugh it off and clean it up. Meanwhile I’ll get pissed that I didn’t wipe their feet and be mad the entire time I’m cleaning it up. This has nothing to do with the dogs, it just an example. Any number of seemingly insignificant things can trigger me like that. Like forgetting something at the store and having to go back. I would love to be able to go, “well that sucks” and just get over it.
How new is ACT therapy? Is it more prevalent nowadays in comparison with CBT? CBT seemed to be a hugely popular “trend” and it always seemed to not make much sense to me.
CBT was definitely a trend because it’s easy to administer and it absolutely works for certain things. It worked wonders for me with panic attacks, and it’s child DBT is the only known effective treatment for BPD last I heard, but it solves specific problems namely irrational and harmful thought patterns
I’m not really sure how new ACT is. I suspect that the core components are ancient buddhist practices but it’s only been packaged as ACT in recent decades?
When you say CBT is a trend that didn’t make much sense, it sounds like you’re talking about a specific form. I’ve had General Practitioners (doctors) refer me to a therapist for CBT innumerable times. All therapists say they “can do CBT” but in my experience they mean they can give you a few coping mechanisms. It was really only when I read some books about it that I finally understood.
I don’t know which is more prevalent. I believe they both are supported by clinical research. I find both very helpful but they’re completely different tools and not really comparable. If something happens at work and my anxiety is off the charts then ACT will help me get through a few days a little more easily, but then CBT will help me get at the root of the problem when I have time to think through it on the weekend. Both are effective, but supported by each other.