What is Self as Context?
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), self as context refers to the idea that you are not your thoughts, feelings, or experiences but rather the space in which they occur. It’s about recognising the part of you that is aware of your experiences, that observes without judgment. This is different from self as content, which is how we often define ourselves in terms of our thoughts, feelings, and roles.
- Self as context can be described as the “observer self” or the “thinking self,” which is the perspective from which you can notice your thoughts and emotions coming and going.
- It is the unchanging awareness that is present throughout your life, no matter what experiences you have.
- This concept is not simply an intellectual idea, but an experience of the separation between you and your experience.
Examples of Self as Context
To understand self as context, consider these examples:
- Thoughts: Imagine having a thought such as “I am a failure”. Instead of identifying with the thought and believing it to be true, you can observe it and acknowledge that you are having the thought, but you are not the thought itself.
- Feelings: When you feel anxious, you can notice the sensation of anxiety without becoming overwhelmed by it. You are the container that is experiencing the anxiety, but the anxiety is not you.
- Memories: Even when traumatic memories arise, you can acknowledge that you are the person that went through that experience, but that your entire identity is not defined by the memory.
- The Chessboard Metaphor: You are the chessboard, and your thoughts and feelings are the pieces on the board. The pieces may move and battle, but the chessboard remains unchanged, providing the context for it all.
How to Explore Self as Context
Clients can explore self as context through several methods:
- Mindfulness exercises: These practices help clients observe their thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present moment without judgment. This creates a sense of separation between the observer (you) and the observed (your experience).
- Using language: Practising statements like, “I am having the thought that…” rather than “I am…” can help to create distance from your thoughts. This highlights that you are the context for, and not the content of, your thoughts.
- Metaphors: Visualising yourself as a house, with thoughts, feelings and sensations as the inhabitants and furniture, can illustrate that, like a house, you remain the same regardless of your contents.
- Defusion techniques: These techniques help to weaken the power of thoughts and feelings. By separating them from your identity, clients can observe their thoughts and sensations rather than being controlled by them. For example, noticing a thought, naming it, and letting it go can help to recognise thoughts as simply thoughts.
- Experiential exercises: Engaging in activities that encourage an observer stance, such as the “Acceptance of Anxiety” exercise, helps make full contact with the experience of anxiety, and can show the distinction between the self and experiences.
- Practising Willingness: Clients can experiment with “having” and observing experiences, using willingness as a stance. This can help in contacting a sense of self as context.
Summary
Self as context in ACT refers to the understanding that you are not your thoughts, feelings or experiences. Instead, you are the awareness that notices these experiences. This concept is central to helping clients develop a more flexible relationship with their anxiety, allowing them to observe their thoughts and feelings without identifying with them or being controlled by them. Experiential techniques such as mindfulness, defusion, and specific exercises help clients recognise their ‘observer self’. Understanding self as context helps individuals to move towards living a value-driven life, regardless of their experience of anxiety, by making choices that are different from those they made in the past.