Summarize:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of treatment that helps people accept themselves and work toward their goals. Along the lines of this therapy, you can learn acceptance in order to reduce your pattern of berating yourself. Try using this worksheet found at getselfhelp.co.uk to work on acceptance. Fill in the blanks:  Activating Event (what happened) __________________ Thoughts (what went through your mind) ______________ Consequence of believing these thoughts ____________ Balanced, alternative thought ______________________ How you will defuse (see thoughts as passing sensations and cope appropriately) _________________ Normalizing is a common technique in therapy because it lets people know that their experience is common and normal. This in turn, can cause people to be more relaxed, and accept themselves and their situation more readily. For example, maybe you tend to be quiet in group settings, and you wish you spoke up more. Someone else who seems like the life of the party might wish instead to be a better listener. Don't be so hard on yourself! You're a unique human being.  Everyone has challenges and things to work on. You are a work in progress! There's always something to learn in order to develop a more productive way to live your life. You can learn to live more efficiently, conduct your relationships healthfully with yourself and others, increase your happiness, and decrease your anxiety.  If you find yourself thinking negatively again, try a little self-compassion. Try to be understanding with yourself as you would with a friend. If you have high expectations of yourself, try to focus on what you did well. If you need to, adjust your expectations and allow yourself some time to breathe or relax. Distraction or grounding techniques can serve as great resources for dealing with the emotional pain (anxiety, depression) that often coincides with self-critical thoughts and behaviors.  One way to distract yourself is to laugh. Laughter really can be the best medicine, as it has been shown to increase overall health. Try watching a funny movie or stand-up comedy or playing a humorous game. Engage in positive activities. Doing things that make you happy is a fantastic way to turn your mood around and cope with self-critical thoughts. Go somewhere that makes you happy. This might be a park, mall, pet store, or friend's house. Sometimes you may get too hung-up on your challenges, without taking into account the great aspects of who you are! Pay attention to and congratulate your positive characteristics in order to increase your self-esteem.  You can use a positive personal qualities sheet to organize your strengths. Define your good qualities, how others might describe you in a positive way, and what others have said about your positive characteristics in the past. Try drawing a flower and putting one positive quality on each petal. Try this worksheet. Stop others from berating you. How you allow other people to treat you may greatly affect how you treat yourself.  If your friends pick on you, then get new friends! If your coworkers are mean to you, then you must decide if it is really worth it to be around people who treat you badly.
Practice self-acceptance. Normalize your experiences. Give yourself a break. Distract yourself. Focus on your positive qualities. Do not tolerate others putting you down.