What Is Expansion in ACT—and How Can It Help You Stop Fighting Your Feelings?

If you've ever tried to "think your way out of" anxiety, stuff down anger, or numb emotional pain, you're not alone. We live in a culture that tells us that uncomfortable emotions are problems to fix—but what if the key to healing is allowing them to exist rather than fighting them?

This is where Expansion, a process from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), becomes transformative.

Expansion is about opening up to our internal experiences—especially the uncomfortable ones—so they can move through us, not get stuck inside. When used in therapy, expansion helps reduce suffering by giving space to emotions, rather than resisting or avoiding them.

Let’s explore what expansion really means, why it’s powerful, and how it can help with things like anxiety, trauma, grief, and emotional overwhelm.

What Is Expansion in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy?

Expansion is an emotional acceptance technique from ACT that helps you soften your resistance to painful feelings.

Think of your emotions like a beach ball under water. The more you try to push it down, the more forcefully it pops back up. Expansion invites you to let the ball rise—to make space for it—without getting caught in the struggle to suppress or avoid.

In ACT, expansion involves:

1. Becoming present with what you feel

2. Noticing and naming the feeling

3. Breathing into the space where it lives in your body

4. Allowing it to be there without judgment or urgency to change it

This might sound simple, but it takes practice. The goal isn’t to enjoy painful feelings—it’s to create space between you and the suffering caused by resistance.

Why Do We Resist Emotion in the First Place?

For many clients—especially those healing from trauma, anxiety, or childhood invalidation—emotions can feel threatening. Maybe you were taught not to cry, or you were punished for expressing anger. Maybe fear became a constant survival companion.

In these cases, emotional avoidance becomes a learned pattern. But avoidance comes at a cost:

• Anxiety becomes panic

• Grief turns into numbness

• Anger morphs into shame

Expansion teaches us that we don’t need to escape our feelings—we need to make room for them.

How to Practice Expansion: Step-by-Step

Here’s how you can begin to practice expansion, whether in therapy or on your own.

🌀 Step 1: Notice the Feeling

Become aware of what emotion is showing up.

Example: “I feel tight in my chest… this feels like anxiety.”

🌀 Step 2: Locate It in the Body

Where do you feel it physically? What shape or size does it seem to have? Is it moving or still?

“It’s a heavy pressure behind my ribs. It feels like a knot.”

🌀 Step 3: Breathe Into It

Imagine sending your breath gently to that area. You’re not trying to push it away—just creating space around it.

“I’m breathing into the tension, softening around it.”

🌀 Step 4: Allow and Acknowledge

Say to yourself: “This is what I’m feeling right now, and it’s okay to feel this.” You might even name it: “This is fear.” “This is sadness.” “This is grief.”

🌀 Step 5: Observe Without Judgment

You are not your feelings. You are the observer of them. Let them be present as long as they need to be, like clouds in the sky.

Using Expansion for Anxiety

When anxiety hits, the body and mind scream for escape. Expansion helps us turn toward the sensation rather than away from it.

🧠 Fused/Resisting:

“I can’t feel this. I need to calm down right now!”🔥 Result: Panic intensifies.

🌿 Expanded:

“This is anxiety. My body feels tense. I can make space for this and still be okay.”🌤️ Result: The emotion may still be there, but you’re not fighting it—and that reduces suffering.

Using Expansion for Trauma

Trauma often causes people to dissociate or shut down around big emotions. Expansion allows you to re-enter the body slowly, at a safe pace.

In therapy, we might explore:

• Naming the fear or grief without judgment

• Breathing into flashback sensations

• Making space for guilt, shame, or sadness without believing they define you

“This memory is painful. I feel it in my throat. I’m breathing into it, allowing it to soften, just for this moment.”

Over time, expansion helps build emotional tolerance, so you feel more grounded when waves of emotion come.

Important Reminders

• Expansion is not about liking or fixing the feeling. It’s about widening your capacity to hold it.

• Sometimes, the feeling will stay. Sometimes it will fade. Either way, you are learning to be with yourself instead of fighting yourself.

• You can always pause and ground in the present if things feel too overwhelming.

You Can’t Heal What You Don’t Let Yourself Feel

At Mindful Mountain Counseling, I help clients gently reconnect with their bodies, emotions, and values—so they can move from survival mode into meaningful, engaged living. Whether we’re working with ACT, EMDR, or mindfulness, expansion is often a cornerstone of the healing process.

📞 Call 602-615-0166 to schedule a free consultation.💻 Online therapy available in Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, South Dakota, Vermont, and Oregon.

Your emotions aren’t the enemy. They’re messengers. When you make space for them, you make space for healing.

Let’s practice being present—together.