In this episode Curt Jaimungal talks with Professor Lilian Dindo about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and its use for anxiety, panic attacks, and broader mental‑health challenges. They discuss how ACT can help uncover personal values, differentiate anxiety from excitement, and even boost learning in math and physics.

- 00:00:00 - Introduction
- 00:04:05 - What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) therapy?
- 00:08:12 - Suffering is a part of life
- 00:11:06 - ACT is not just for therapy, but for general illness and rejection
- 00:14:24 - Lilian's feeling anxiety in this interview *right now*, but ACT is helping
- 00:15:57 - Dealing with panic attacks
- 00:18:22 - "Anxiety" and "excitement" are physiologically indistinguishable
- 00:20:00 - Implementing ACT (specific example)
- 00:26:15 - Stop avoiding. The mind works by addition (not subtraction)!
- 00:30:00 - Choosing courage vs. "mustering" courage
- 00:30:51 - Coping vs. mollifying
- 00:33:45 - Goal oriented vs. Value oriented
- 00:36:06 - How to uncover your own values?
- 00:42:14 - Do values imply a "should"? (specific example)
- 00:47:45 - What separates those for whom therapy works for, from those it doesn't?
- 00:54:57 - Suicidal ideation / psychosis (there's hope with ACT)
- 00:57:14 - Enhancing learning math / physics
- 00:59:50 - Acceptance vs Acknowledgement
- 01:01:40 - Physical vs Psychology (mind and body connection)
- 01:05:53 - A visual example you can employ to abate anxiety
- 01:10:39 - The role of belief / hope / faith / trust
- 01:11:08 - "Thanking" the negative thought / emotion
- 01:11:50 - People don't suffer with just ONE issue, but multiple

SPONSORS:

- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal
- Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE
- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802
- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything
- Merch: https://tinyurl.com/TOEmerch

RESOURCES:

- YouTube link: https://youtu.be/L_hI7JNsbt0
- Lilian's links:
- http://actfindyourpath.com
- https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/lilian-dindo-20557
- https://www.bcm.edu/research/faculty-labs/act-on-health-lab
- http://contextualscience.org
- Links mentioned:
- Karl Friston episode: https://youtu.be/SWtFU1Lit3M
- A H Almaas episode: https://youtu.be/6JlKf1QAvXA
- Curt's Crash Course on Theoretical Physics: https://youtu.be/e8kyvdPP8os

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