Experiential avoidance has been broadly defined in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as attempts to avoid thoughts, feelings, memories, physical sensations, and other internal experiences – even when doing so creates harm in the long-run.
It’s natural to seek experiences that make you feel good while avoiding those that cause harm or discomfort. In fact, it’s an essential evolutionary response that could even be considered a normal, protective adaptation. Sadly, avoiding persistent pain or negative emotions is an instinctive reaction that can end up causing even more discomfort.
When clients to therapy attempt to avoid unpleasant sensations are repeatedly unsuccessful, they can end up feeling overwhelmed with a “Mission Impossible” scenario. In some ways, the preference of short-term pain as apposed to long-term gain takes place in experiential avoidance. Clients might continuously strive to avoid or control experiences that they believe will worsen their condition, even at the cost of enduring more significant consequences in the long run. The effort to control discomfort can not only magnify the pain experience, but also negatively impact a client’s well-being and quality of life.
While pain avoidance has its place in the human experience, temporary relief coupled with prolonged refusal to meet discomfort head on can present risk factors that exacerbate long-term adverse outcomes. The list of complications with prolonged suboptimal coping strategies is long and has been well-established in medical literature.
Are there consequences to using avoiding negative experiences – experiential avoidance?
Prescription drug dependence
Ongoing attempts to minimize or avoid unpleasant sensation may lead to coping patterns that include drug abuse, dependence and addiction. Here are some consequences of experiential avoidance.
Psychological distress
Patients who continuously seek to avoid pain that cannot be resolved are at risk for heightened distress through hypervigilance, catastrophizing, and fear.
Increased levels of depression and anxiety
When patients are consumed by an effort to avoid pain or discomfort, and when these efforts consistently fail, the resulting fear avoidance is associated with worse daily functioning, poor quality of life, and negative mood states, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other behavioural problems.
Heightened Pain Sensitivity
Frequently engaging in experiential avoidance can have a detrimental effect on patients’ coping mechanisms, with studies showing that those who employ experiential avoidance have decreased pain endurance and tolerance levels.
How acceptance can be an antidote to experiential avoidance
Acceptance doesn’t mean you are okay with something. It doesn’t mean you want the pain or struggle. Acceptance means that you open up and make room to experience the unpleasant thoughts and emotions and events of the human experience. You stop fighting with them. You don’t engage with the struggle to get rid of the unpleasant sensations or discomfort. Research has demonstrated that when people resist the urge to control or avoid their discomfort and instead accept their thoughts and feelings in tandem with the possibility of leading a full life, they experience less depression, anxiety, stress and improved function.
A willingness (acceptance) stance often leads to:
- Reduced physical pain
- Increased resilience
- Healthier state of mind and body
- Improved mental states
- Decreased fear and catastrophizing
- Improved physical function
The realization that avoiding unpleasant thoughts, feelings or negative experiences cannot always be resolved can open the door to freedom from experiential avoidance, in turn leading to more functional responses to their conditions. Helping the client to open the door to willingness moves them forward in their recovery despite the presence of problems in their life.
A modern exploration of human suffering suggests that negative thoughts, feelings or experiences aren’t the enemy and therefore don’t need to be “stopped,” “fought,” or “controlled.” Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is rooted in this perspective. It encourages patients to drop the struggle, to learn to accept unpleasant experiences when it serves their values, and to act in alignment with their goals (and values) as they move forward towards a life beyond pain.
If you enjoyed reading this article and are looking for an accredited Acceptance and Commitment Therapist, then feel free to contact me via my contact form that can be found by clicking HERE, or if you’d like to know more about me then please click HERE. Click HERE if you’d like to know more about a counsellor and HERE is you’d like to know more about a therapist.
No Comments