I did the keynote at the American Society of Safety Engineers Future Leaders conference this last week. While there, something happened that I wanted to share with this group. The ACT material touches a lot of people, and Ive had lots of folks over the years who otherwise would not come in contact with ACT-y stuff (because they wouldnt step foot in a therapists office) actually respond very well to the stuff we all do. And this past Thursday, I had a gathering of conference attendees meet me in the hall and actually start lamenting that the blue collar world needs to learn more about these concepts. One guy told me he was the safety officer for a a statewide Department of Transportation, and through the years, several workers died under his supervision. He said there was no one to talk to, no EAP help, and a lot of shame and experiential avoidance. He said he had to take the John Wayne pill, or in other words, act tough in the face of his emotional trauma. He was moved by the concept of acceptance. He started to cry while we were talking the hallway in front of other guys and they started crying to... not just sympathetic tears, but also because they had experienced the same type of thing. So... none of this is for me to brag about my address or impact, but rather to ask the community to consider doing outreach in your area of the world. We really need to work - just step by step - at spreading this stuff. Or if you are already doing it... share the impact you are having with this group. We have a powerful intervention that fits many contexts... and its a good message more people should hear and embrace. I am very honestly grateful for this wide group of scientist-practitioner-educators for giving me a platform to be useful for other people.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 23:05:43 +0000
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