ACT helps you notice when you are ruminating and skills to respond more flexibly to difficult thoughts and feelings. The focus of ACT is not to try to change your negative thoughts (although your thoughts might change) or make them go away. When you notice yourself hooked by a particular thought, ACT teaches you how to unhook from that thought and focus more of your energy on living a meaningful life, rather than struggling with your thoughts. One recent study showed that even a brief two-session ACT intervention targeting rumination can help unhook from difficult thoughts and increase valued living.
