Steven C. Hayes Quotes & Sayings

We can have a large impact on the prevention and amelioration of abuse, drug problems, violence, mental health problems, and dysfunction in families. — Steven C. Hayes

What we need to learn to do is to look at thought, rather than from thought. — Steven C. Hayes

If you aren't willing to have it, you will. — Steven C. Hayes

Almost all people suffer some form of intense inner pain at some times in their lives. The suffering might be depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or suicidal thoughts and it results from the battles we wage against our thoughts as we futilely try to get rid of our historie. — Steven C. Hayes

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life. — Steven C. Hayes

There is a tremendous irony in happiness. It comes from a root word meaning 'by chance' or 'an occurrence', which in a positive sense connotes a sense of newness, wonder, and appreciation of chance occurrences. The irony is that people not only seek it, they try to hold on to it - especially to avoid any sense of 'unhappiness'. Unfortunately, these very control efforts can become heavy, planned, closed, rigid and fixed. — Steven C. Hayes

When you try not to think of something, you do that by creating this verbal rule: "Don't think of x." That rule contains x, so it will tend to evoke x, just as the sounds "gub-gub" can evoke a picture of an imaginary animal. Thus, when we suppress our thoughts, we not only must think of something else, we have to hold ourselves back from thinking about why we are doing that. If we check to see whether our efforts are working, we will remember what we are trying not to think and we will think it. The worrisome thought thus tends to grow. If — Steven C. Hayes