When Life Hits Hard: How to Transcend Grief, Crisis, and Loss with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Downloads：2725
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-26 06:51:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Russ Harris
- ISBN：1684039010
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Practical skills grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy （ACT） to help you bounce back when life knocks you down。
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or a job， the end of a relationship， a pandemic， or a natural disaster—nothing really prepares us for those moments when life hits hard and turns our world upside down。 The good news is that you can move forward。 There are tools you can use to find your way back from despair and live a fulfilling life。
In this candid self-help guide， psychotherapist Russ Harris offers powerful and doable skills grounded in evidence-based ACT to help you recover from grief， loss， and crisis; transcend your pain and suffering; and build a rich and meaningful life—even in the face of adversity。 You’ll also find tools to help you deal with painful memories， create your own healing “grief rituals，” and transform difficult emotions into unexpected allies。
Finally， you’ll learn how mindfulness and self-compassion can help keep you grounded， even when it seems like your world is in free fall。 If you’re ready to start building the resilience needed to heal from loss or thrive in the face adversity， this guide will show you how to get there， one step at a time。
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or a job， the end of a relationship， a pandemic， or a natural disaster—nothing really prepares us for those moments when life hits hard and turns our world upside down。 The good news is that you can move forward。 There are tools you can use to find your way back from despair and live a fulfilling life。
In this candid self-help guide， psychotherapist Russ Harris offers powerful and doable skills grounded in evidence-based ACT to help you recover from grief， loss， and crisis; transcend your pain and suffering; and build a rich and meaningful life—even in the face of adversity。 You’ll also find tools to help you deal with painful memories， create your own healing “grief rituals，” and transform difficult emotions into unexpected allies。
Finally， you’ll learn how mindfulness and self-compassion can help keep you grounded， even when it seems like your world is in free fall。 If you’re ready to start building the resilience needed to heal from loss or thrive in the face adversity， this guide will show you how to get there， one step at a time。
Reviews
Ivana Matic-Stancin
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Russ's book " When Life Hits Hard" is based on ACT's approach to life itself， particularly Grief。 Grief is an inevitable part of life。 Life is complex and beautiful at the same time。 We humans do not usually hold both polarities well。 The ability to hold the Grief as a very complex constellation of emotions and hold whatever other feelings the present moment invites is what ACT （Acceptance Commitment therapy） teaches us how to do。 The timing when this book was published is perfect。 We are all co Russ's book " When Life Hits Hard" is based on ACT's approach to life itself， particularly Grief。 Grief is an inevitable part of life。 Life is complex and beautiful at the same time。 We humans do not usually hold both polarities well。 The ability to hold the Grief as a very complex constellation of emotions and hold whatever other feelings the present moment invites is what ACT （Acceptance Commitment therapy） teaches us how to do。 The timing when this book was published is perfect。 We are all collectively experiencing Grief。 We all lost the world we used to know。 I highly recommend reading this excellent book for curious and brave people who would like to learn how to hold pain and joy with equanimity and even further how to grow from pain。 。。。more
Mary
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Useful tools to help us all deal with the inevitable hardships in lifeDealing with grief， facing crises and dealing with losses of various kinds are sadly things that each of us will have to face on our journeys through life。 We’re all different and no two people will respond in the same way to the same loss or challenge。 ACT gives us a tool we can use with the aid of a therapist or to help ourselves and this makes it particularly useful。While the book focusses on crisis points in life Russ has Useful tools to help us all deal with the inevitable hardships in lifeDealing with grief， facing crises and dealing with losses of various kinds are sadly things that each of us will have to face on our journeys through life。 We’re all different and no two people will respond in the same way to the same loss or challenge。 ACT gives us a tool we can use with the aid of a therapist or to help ourselves and this makes it particularly useful。While the book focusses on crisis points in life Russ has combined ACT with mindfulness to give us useful techniques that can be applied to many issues。 We can all add these to our personal toolkits and use them to smooth our way through the ups and downs we have to cope with on a daily basis。 I would go so far as to say that these pearls of wisdom could be distilled down into bite sized chunks which could be taught to children to set them up for life。I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to。 。。。more
Ann Cavlovic
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One of the best "self-help" books I have ever read。 No BS。 Evidence-based and compassionate。 Really everyone should read this before life hits hard so to be better prepared （although we all want to pretend it won't happen to us）。 One of the best "self-help" books I have ever read。 No BS。 Evidence-based and compassionate。 Really everyone should read this before life hits hard so to be better prepared （although we all want to pretend it won't happen to us）。 。。。more
Ashley Peterson
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When Life Hits Hard by Russ Harris draws on acceptance and commitment therapy （ACT） to explore dealing with grief。 I’m a big fan of the author based on his other writings about ACT， and this book didn’t disappoint。The book is divided into three sections: regroup， rebuild， and revitalize。 Grief is framed as a process rather than emotion， and that process occurs in different ways for different people。 The book isn’t so much about changing that process as smoothing the way。The author explains that When Life Hits Hard by Russ Harris draws on acceptance and commitment therapy （ACT） to explore dealing with grief。 I’m a big fan of the author based on his other writings about ACT， and this book didn’t disappoint。The book is divided into three sections: regroup， rebuild， and revitalize。 Grief is framed as a process rather than emotion， and that process occurs in different ways for different people。 The book isn’t so much about changing that process as smoothing the way。The author explains that we can’t control the past， future， or other people， and “we definitely can’t control our thoughts and feelings。” He’s very realistic and anti-toxic positivity， saying that your loss isn’t a gift， and pain isn’t going to vanish because you “somehow magically replace them with joy and happiness。” Preach！ I like the ACT approach of allowing thoughts and feelings rather than trying to grapple them。He explains what self-compassion is and isn’t， and why it’s important。 He also acknowledges that it’s not easy at first， and offers suggestions to practice， including going back and offering compassion to your past self。Metaphors are used a lot in ACT to capture important concepts。 To illustrate the importance of feeling the whole range of emotions， Harris likens feelings to the weather。 He pointed out how much it would limit your life if you could only do/be what you really wanted on days with good weather。Anchor-dropping is a technique that’s frequently referred to throughout out the book。 It involves acknowledging your thoughts/feelings， connecting with your body， and engaging in what you’re doing。 This is to keep you centred， not to make problems go away; after all， “anchors don’t control storms。”The book address psychological smog， an ACT concept that refers to all the mental pollution that we create that clouds up our inner world。 Mindfulness and getting unhooked from thoughts are presented as a way to cut through the smog with openness， curiosity， and flexibility。Values are another important concept in ACT， and in this book， they’re used as a way to orient yourself in moving forward。 Harris also suggests looking at what you want to contribute rather than what you want to get out of life， which I thought was an interesting way of reframing。Regarding behaviour change， I think Harris is spot on。 “Whoever said ‘practice makes perfect’ was deluded。 There’s no such thing as perfection。 Practice will help you establish better life skills， but it won’t permanently eliminate self-defeating behaviors。 You （and I， and everyone else on this planet） will screw up， make mistakes， and， at times， fall back into old habits。 This will happen repeatedly。”I’m a fan of ACT， I’m a fan of Russ Harris， and I’m a fan of this book。 It’s genuine， it’s real， and there’s no BS。 Exactly the way I like it。I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley。 。。。more
Chel
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Russ Harris is known for his support books， and I have read another one， which I found great， too。 When Life Hits Hard is a great book， particularly for those suffering from grief， loss， or another huge event which has impacted on their life。 The book has useful strategies and examples for finding your way out， or at least understanding how you're feeling。 I really recommend this book。 Russ Harris is known for his support books， and I have read another one， which I found great， too。 When Life Hits Hard is a great book， particularly for those suffering from grief， loss， or another huge event which has impacted on their life。 The book has useful strategies and examples for finding your way out， or at least understanding how you're feeling。 I really recommend this book。 。。。more
Jeri
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