A Metaphor For The Sea

The Waves on the Shore Metaphor

The waves on the shore metaphor comes from acceptance and commitment therapy. This tool is helpful for dealing with negative emotions and thoughts.

The waves on the shore metaphor is a tool therapists use in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which belongs to the group of third wave therapies. In a clinical context, this tool is helpful for taking ability away from negative emotions and thoughts.

In this commodity, we'll discuss the waves on the shore metaphor and how you can utilise it in your everyday life. Withal, to do that you starting time have to sympathise exactly what Deed is.

What is ACT?

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)is a relatively recent therapeutic strategy. Information technology comes from the cognitive-behavioral branch of psychology. As such,it's based on the idea that our thoughts take enormous ability over how we feel.

Yet, reverse to cognitive-behavioral therapy, Human action doesn't try to alter what goes through your mind.The large thought of this particular strategy is that your thoughts but have as much power equally you want to requite them.

I of the principles of acceptance and delivery therapy is that negative emotions can't hurt you. ACTs creators believe that they're but there. And then, if we learn to accept them, we'll suffer less.

To help patients accept negative thoughts,therapists use techniques that require imagination.One of them is the waves on the shore metaphor.

The waves on the shore metaphor

The purpose of using this metaphor in therapy is to help the patient understand that their thoughts and feelings can't injure them. Consequently, information technology's very good for people who are suffering from anxiety.

This is the way it works: Imagine a long, white, sandy beach. Waves are constantly crashing onto the shore. Some are pocket-sized. Others, notwithstanding, are large and threatening. Whatever their size, though,they all harmlessly disappear when they achieve the beach.

Now, imagine someone trying to fight against the waves. It doesn't brand much sense, correct? At the end of the 24-hour interval, the h2o isn't hurting the embankment. The person volition simply end upwardly frustrated and tired.

Every bit you tin can probably tell, the beach is you. Just like the shore, you tin resist near annihilation that comes your way. The waves represent the thoughts and emotions that tin can't impairment you.

Aye, some of the waves are scarier than others. They might make you experience momentarily bad. It might fifty-fifty seem like they're never going to go away. Merely in the end, all the waves dissolve into the sand, no matter how scary they are.

The goal of the metaphor is to help you lot consider acceptance as an culling to needing command.

How to use this tool

According to acceptance and commitment therapy,your mind has two parts.1 of them is in charge of thinking and feeling. Your thoughts can seem threatening. However, the other role of your mind, the "observer", is never harmed.

Your observant listen is like the beach in the metaphor. Thoughts and emotions come and get, but the sand remains. So what's the point of worrying nigh them? Why fight against these uncontrolled thoughts and feelings?

The waves on the shore metaphor can assistance you distance yourself from your mental "creations". Often, our suffering doesn't come from what'south actually happening. Instead, it comes from what y'all're telling yourself. When you lot give also much importance to the stories and worries in your caput, you'll simply end up unhappy.

You have the ability to tell yourself what's happening. Be an observer, non an interpreter. Your thoughts and emotions only have equally much power over you lot as you lot requite them. In the cease, the waves will disappear and the ocean will be calm again.

A Metaphor For The Sea,

Source: https://exploringyourmind.com/waves-on-the-shore-metaphor/

Posted by: youngsibrom.blogspot.com

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