How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Helps with Anxiety and Depression

Jan 9

Some people come to therapy saying,
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I should be fine.”

On the outside, life might look okay. But inside, there’s a constant hum of worry. Or a heaviness that doesn’t lift. Thoughts loop endlessly. Mornings feel harder than they should. Even moments of rest are filled with tension or guilt.

For many people living with anxiety or depression, the hardest part isn’t just the symptoms, it’s the ongoing battle with their own mind.

Why can’t I stop thinking like this?
Why can’t I just calm down?
Why do I still feel empty when I try so hard?

ACT begins right here, not by trying to remove these experiences, but by helping you relate to them differently.

The Struggle That Keeps Us Stuck

Most of us are taught, in subtle ways, that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are problems to solve. So when anxiety shows up, we try to control it. When sadness lingers, we push ourselves to “snap out of it.”

But over time, many people notice a painful pattern:

The more they fight their anxiety, the stronger it becomes.
The more they judge their depression, the heavier it feels.

ACT starts by naming this struggle, not as a failure, but as a very human response.

You’re not broken.
Your mind is doing what minds do, trying to protect you, even when it hurts.

A Different Question

Instead of asking,
“How do I get rid of my anxiety or depression?”

ACT gently invites a different question:
”What would it be like to make room for these experiences?”

This shift can feel unsettling at first. Acceptance doesn’t mean liking anxiety or giving up on feeling better. It means learning how to make room for your inner experience without letting it run your life.

And that’s where real change often begins.

Some people hesitate when they hear the word acceptance in therapy.

It can sound like giving up.
Like agreeing with the pain.
Like saying, “This is just how it is.”

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), acceptance isn’t about liking anxiety or resigning yourself to depression. Many therapists prefer the word willingness, because it better captures what ACT is really inviting.

Willingness means choosing to stay present with what’s here, as it is, so it no longer controls your life.

How ACT Helps with Anxiety: Learning to Unhook from Fear

Anxiety often tells convincing stories:

Something bad is about to happen.
You can’t handle this.
You need to avoid this feeling at all costs.

ACT helps you learn how to notice these thoughts without being pulled into them.

Rather than arguing with anxiety or trying to replace thoughts with “positive thinking,” ACT teaches you how to step back and say:

“I’m noticing my mind is telling me this.”

That small shift creates space. Space to breathe. Space to choose.

Over time, anxiety may still show up, but it no longer gets to decide where you go, who you see, or what you avoid.

How ACT Helps with Depression: Rebuilding Life from Meaning, Not Motivation

Depression often whispers quieter, heavier messages:

What’s the point?
You’re a burden.
Nothing will change.

ACT doesn’t try to talk you out of these thoughts. Instead, it helps you see them for what they are—thoughts, not truths.

When energy is low and motivation feels impossible, ACT focuses on something more reliable: values.

Values are not goals you have to achieve.
They are directions, ways of being that matter to you, even on hard days.

ACT helps you take small, compassionate steps toward what matters—connection, care, creativity, honesty—even when depression is present. Slowly, life begins to widen again.

Acceptance Isn’t Giving Up, It’s Letting Go of the War

One of the most powerful moments in ACT is when people realize:

“I don’t have to feel better before I live better.”

When you stop using all your energy fighting your internal world, you free up space to live imperfectly, meaningfully, and with more self-compassion.

This is why ACT can be so effective for anxiety and depression, especially when symptoms feel chronic, overlapping, or rooted in long-standing patterns.