Feeling Stuck? How Psychological Flexibility Can Help You Break Free
- Brittany Rickett
- Sep 29
- 4 min read
When Your Thoughts Hold You Hostage
Do you ever feel trapped in your own mind—like your brain is looping through “What if I fail?” or “I should’ve done better” on repeat? You’re not alone. Many people live with a sense of being pulled by their anxious, self-critical, or rigid inner voices. These thoughts can feel so persuasive that you forget they’re just thoughts—stories your brain is telling you.
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this is often described as cognitive fusion—when you become entangled with your thoughts, believing them as fact instead of noticing them as experiences in the mind (really it's our brain doing what it's designed to do - be a problem solving machine! But sometimes it gets stuck in the 'on' position). When fusion rules your life, it makes it hard to act in line with what truly matters to you.
What ACT offers instead is psychological flexibility—a capacity to notice your inner world without being hemmed in by it, and to steer your life toward values even when anxiety or doubt show up. In other words, you don’t have to wait for your mind to quiet down before you live.
The Hexaflex: Your Roadmap to Flexibility
The Hexaflex is more than a pretty graphic. It’s a map of six core processes in ACT that work together to build psychological flexibility. Each corner represents a pathway you can practice on:
Present Moment — Learning to be here, now
Acceptance — Making space for hard feelings instead of fighting them
Cognitive Defusion — Stepping back from thoughts so they lose grip
Self-as-Context — Recognizing a part of you that holds experience without being defined by it
Values — Clarifying what really matters in your life
Committed Action — Taking steps (even small ones) toward those values
Together, these six aren’t sequential stages; they interact dynamically. When one is weak, others help support it. (For example, defusion helps you accept your emotions; acceptance grounds you so you can reconnect with the present.) For a clear intro, see how the “Developing Psychological Flexibility” guide lays out the six processes and the “core problems” they counteract. Psychology Tools
In practice, building flexibility means becoming a more skilled navigator of your internal terrain, so your values—not your anguish—drive your direction.
Why It Matters: The Research Behind Psychological Flexibility
You might wonder: is this just philosophy or does it actually help in real life? The science is compelling.
ACT has now passed 1,000 randomized controlled trials globally, covering everything from anxiety, depression, chronic pain, to performance and behavior change. Psychology Today
In a recent study, enhancing “acceptance-enhanced behavior therapy” (which emphasizes psychological flexibility) showed superior outcomes vs. standard approaches for emotional challenges. ScienceDirect
Meta-analyses consistently find that psychological inflexibility (rigid thinking, avoidance, fusion) predicts distress, while interventions targeting flexibility lead to improvements. RACGP+2Psychology Today+2
In short: psychological flexibility isn’t a fad—it’s now a well-supported pathway to resilience and meaning.
What You Can Do Today
You don’t need to master all six processes right away. Try this micro-practice to feel the difference of even a little flexibility:
Practice: Naming Your Thought (Defusion Starter)
Pause for a breath.
When a worry or judgment shows up, gently note: “I’m noticing I'm having the thought that …”
Let it hang for a moment before deciding what to do next. (I even like to use my hand as a visual support. I hold my hand out in front of me and visualize the thought sitting on my hand).
By doing that, you begin to build separation between the thought and yourself. It’s like seeing a leaf float down a stream (another great tool we will talk about later in this series on ACT)—you observe it, you don’t have to step into it.
Over the upcoming weeks, I’ll be adding a post diving into each point of the Hexaflex—sharing which internal loop it tends to block and a tool you can try. Your mind might not always be quiet, but you’ll gradually learn to live with it while still moving toward what matters.
If you liked this post, stay tuned for:
Present Moment (next): a grounding tool to quiet the loop
Acceptance: how letting in doesn’t mean surrender
Defusion, Self-as-Context, Values, Committed Action
If this way of working with your thoughts feels like a better fit for your brain, reach out to one of our therapists. Together, we can explore how ACT therapy might support you in building a life guided by what matters most to you.
About the Author
Brittany Rickett, Bachelor of Education, MA in Counselling Psychology, CCC, CCS LCT
Brittany Rickett, MA, LCT, CCS, is a licensed therapist and the Clinic Director of 3 Rivers Counselling in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. With over a decade of experience in education before moving into clinical work, Brittany brings a grounded, compassionate approach to therapy that blends neuroscience with evidence-based modalities. She integrates EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic work and Polyvagal-informed practices, supporting clients through trauma, stress, and life transitions.
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