Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is based on the belief that five fundamental errors are responsible for much of human distress.
One of these errors is the tendency to want to avoid painful feelings at all costs.
Our addiction to our cell phones can serve as a distraction from the distress of loneliness. Or drinking. Or smoking.
A colleague suggested that this interview with comedian Louise C.K outlines the difference between acceptance and avoidance in a way that is unusually clear. He also talks about why avoiding unpleasant feelings is ultimately self-destructive.