Experiential avoidance is a key concept in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and refers to the attempts people make to avoid, suppress, or alter unwanted private experiences such as thoughts, feelings, memories, and bodily sensations. It involves trying to get away from internal experiences, like unpleasant thoughts, memories and feelings such as anxiety. This avoidance can also manifest externally, such as avoiding situations or people that might trigger these unwanted internal experiences.
How Experiential Avoidance Contributes to Mental Health Issues
Experiential avoidance is considered a core issue in many anxiety disorders. It is a toxic process that can lead to “disordered” experiences of anxiety and fear. Rather than dealing directly with difficult thoughts and feelings, people engage in behaviours or thought patterns to try and reduce or eliminate them, and this often has a negative effect over time. Here are some ways in which experiential avoidance contributes to mental health issues:
- It reinforces anxiety: When people avoid situations that make them anxious, they don’t learn that these situations are not inherently dangerous, and they don’t develop the skills to cope with the discomfort. This avoidance reinforces the perception of threat, solidifying negative beliefs.
- It restricts life: Avoidance limits one’s life by restricting where they go, what they do, and who they see. This can lead to a smaller, less fulfilling life. People may avoid activities they used to enjoy, or fail to take necessary actions, engaging in procrastination or “paralysis by analysis”.
- It increases inflexibility: Experiential avoidance makes people less flexible in dealing with situations because they are constantly trying to avoid uncomfortable feelings and experiences. This can lead to rigid patterns of behaviour that don’t serve them well.
- It creates a cycle of suffering: Experiential avoidance can create a vicious cycle, where the avoidance itself leads to more anxiety and distress. For example, individuals might engage in mental avoidance by trying to drown out scary thoughts or worrying about the possibility of being anxious. This can be a form of “anxiety about anxiety” which can exacerbate the condition.
- It can lead to other unhealthy coping mechanisms: People might turn to alcohol, drugs, or certain medications to avoid discomfort. While these might provide temporary relief, they do not address the underlying issues and can lead to further problems.
- It diminishes the ability to experience life fully: Experiential avoidance is a form of emotion regulation that can be unhelpful when it is not needed, or not working. It can lead people to believe that they “ought to be thinking and feeling something differently than I am”, which can cause a focus on regulating anxiety and fear instead of living a valued life.
- It interferes with natural learning: By avoiding challenging situations, individuals miss the opportunity for corrective emotional learning that comes from direct experience.
How Reducing Experiential Avoidance Leads to a Higher Quality of Life
ACT aims to reduce experiential avoidance by fostering a willingness to experience anxiety and related discomfort, whilst moving towards valued actions. Reducing experiential avoidance can improve the quality of life in the following ways:
- Increased psychological flexibility: By accepting rather than avoiding difficult thoughts and feelings, individuals become more psychologically flexible. This means they can be more open to experiences, shift their attention as needed, and act in ways that align with their values.
- Expansion of life experiences: As people become more willing to experience discomfort, they are more likely to engage in activities they have been avoiding. This expands their lives and increases opportunities for growth, connection, and satisfaction.
- Greater emotional regulation: While ACT doesn’t aim to control emotions, by accepting all emotions, people are no longer in a constant battle with them. This allows emotions to be experienced fully, without attempts to alter them, which can lead to their natural reduction.
- Living in accordance with values: When not spending their time and energy trying to avoid discomfort, people have more time and energy to engage in activities that are meaningful and important to them. This can lead to a more purposeful and satisfying life.
- Improved relationships: By reducing avoidance, people are more able to form and maintain relationships with others. Avoidance can make people retreat into isolation, but acceptance opens the door to connecting with others.
- More effective problem solving: When people stop avoiding uncomfortable feelings or situations, they have more capacity to actively solve the problems that are a natural part of living.
- Better health: Experiential avoidance can have negative effects on health. By letting go of avoidance, people are likely to have better overall health and well being.
In summary, experiential avoidance is a core component of anxiety disorders, contributing to a cycle of suffering, restricted lives, and reduced well-being. By reducing this avoidance and embracing acceptance and willingness, individuals can experience a higher quality of life, with increased psychological flexibility, more opportunities, and a greater sense of meaning and purpose.