Stretch Application 7

HD 205, Fall 2019

Stretch Application 7

Intention: Engage with course material outside of class and actively apply the concept of defusion.

Part 1 – Stretch: For a five day period, commit to a daily self-care goal that you are not already doing. Challenge yourself to fully engage and carry out your daily practice (20 minutes of exercise, eating a healthy breakfast, getting at least 8 hours of sleep, flossing, etc.).

During this same time-frame you will also focus on detaching from unhelpful thoughts. You can use the form below to assist your practice. This activity requires you to record your unhelpful thoughts, to experiment with strategies for defusing from those thoughts, and to reflect on your experience. By addressing your unhelpful thoughts over time, you can begin to explore patterns, if any, in the thoughts that frequently cross your mind. If none of the techniques presented support you with distancing from unhelpful thoughts, feel free to create your own approach. The most important aspect is to develop a practice that works for you.

To complete the stretch, please work through the following steps:

1. Read the Happiness Trap (Chapters 4-8) for a refresher on defusion techniques.

2. Commit to a 5-day practice of self-care.

3. Before, during and after each practice, pay close attention to any thoughts that serve as subtle (or not so subtle) barriers to taking action. You are scanning for “unhelpful” thoughts.

4. Using the chart below, identify prevalent, unhelpful thoughts and practice defusion using one of the techniques suggested in the book, in class, or one of your own. You do not need to turn in the chart.

Part 2 – Stretch Reflection: After engaging in the stretch application, it is important to reflect on the experience to assess its impact and increase personal awareness. Please spend time reflecting on the questions below and answer the following prompts. As a guide, please write between 500-600 words for the entire reflection. You do not need to turn in the log, only the responses to the following prompts.

1. What self-care practice did you commit to and why? What did you notice while you completed the self-care activity? You may want to focus on thoughts, emotions, physical sensations or all three.

2. What was one thought that you attempted to defuse from? Is it a common thought? How long has this unhelpful thought influenced your behavior? How has believing this thought negatively impacted your life? How might your life be different if you were free from this thought?

3. Explain the mindfulness practice of defusion. Then describe the defusion technique which you used to work with the thought that you identified in Prompt 2. Was the technique helpful? Discuss using at least one quotation from The Happiness Trap.

Unhelpful Thoughts Record some of your thoughts below. What defusion technique did you use to help you with the unhelpful thoughts? See the example below.

	Before self-care activity (thoughts/feelings)	During self-care activity (thoughts/feelings)	After self-care activity (thoughts/feelings)	What was one the unhelpful thought you identified?	What technique did you use to detach from the unhelpful thought?	What do you notice as you practiced this technique?
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5

Grading: This stretch application will be graded based on the following rubric:

	Achieving	Developing	Struggling
Prompt 1	· Clearly describes the self-care practice. · Clear explanation about why this practice was chosen. · Clearly discusses observations of thoughts and/or emotions and/or physical sensations.	· Vague description of the self-care practice. · Vague description about why this practice was chosen. · Generic description of observations of thoughts and/or emotions and/or physical sensations.	· Does not identify the self-care practice. · Confusing or severely limited description about why this practice was chosen. · Confusing or severely limited description of observations of thoughts and/or emotions and/or physical sensations.
Prompt 2	· Clearly identifies an unhelpful thought. · Clearly discusses prevalence of the thought. · Clear explanation of how long this unhelpful thought has influenced behavior. · Clear discussion of the impact of this thought using specific examples. · Thoughtful discussion about the possibility of living free from this thought.	· Identifies an unhelpful thought. · Some discussion about prevalence. · Generic explanation of how long this unhelpful thought has influenced behavior. · Vague discussion of the impact of this thought using vague examples. · Vague discussion about the possibility of living free from this thought.	· Does not identify an unhelpful thought. · Does not identify prevalence. · Limited explanation of how long this unhelpful thought has influenced behavior. · Limited or confusing discussion of the impact of this thought. · Limited or confusing discussion about the possibility of living free from this thought.
Prompt 3	• Clearly and accurately explains defusion. · Clearly describes the applicable defusion technique. · Clear discussion of the utility of the technique. · Accurate and relevant quote from the text. · Identifies pages cited.	· Explanation of defusion lacks compelling details. · Vague description of the applicable defusion technique. · Vague discussion of the utility of the technique. · Inaccurate and/or irrelevant quote from the text. · Fails to identify pages cited.	· Explanation of defusion is confusing or inaccurate. · Confusing description the applicable defusion technique. · Limited discussion of the utility of the technique. · Fails to cite text.