ACT · Defusion
The Jukebox
Put the harshest thing your mind tells you on the jukebox, then hear it played back in a few very silly voices.
What’s the meanest thing your mind tells you?
The one that shows up uninvited. Write it the way it sounds in your head.
Write a thought above
Same words, every time. Just sounds, in a silly voice. And you’re the one hearing them.
What was hearing it like?
Tap whatever fits. This stays on your device.
Why this helps
Minds are thought-making machines, and the harsh thoughts tend to arrive dressed up as facts. When we’re tangled up in one, it feels like the truth about us.
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), stepping back far enough to see a thought as a thought is called defusion. A goofy voice doesn’t argue with the thought or try to make it disappear. It just loosens its grip, so it sounds like what it is: words.
It’s also a kind of mindfulness. You notice the thought, name it, and let it pass through, while you keep doing what matters to you. You can try it anywhere, quietly:
“I’m noticing I’m having the thought that…”
To make the funny voices, your words are sent once to a voice service to be read aloud. This site doesn’t save or log them. For nothing to leave your device, switch on “Use my device’s voices” (plainer, and they vary by phone).
On iPhone, if you hear nothing, check that the volume is up and the ringer switch isn’t on silent.