Radical Acceptance

There is a common saying in the therapy world that “what we resist, persists”. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I often reference this saying in therapy sessions because so often my clients report being more distressed about the fact of something than the fact itself.

They fight or resist a thought or feeling so hard that they become disappointed in themselves and distressed when the thought or feeling won’t go away.

I believe that liberation comes from the radical acceptance of reality. This radical acceptance may mean honoring whatever thought, feeling, or situation we are facing and acknowledging it without judgment. Acknowledgment and honoring does not mean we are helpless or must succumb to it. It just means we give the thought, feeling, or situation the permission to exist just as it is. As reality.

Radical acceptance of that reality allows us to be empowered to do something about it. From a place of radical acceptance, we can then utilize tools, resources, and coping strategies to manage the reality of our experience. Fighting it just makes the distress stronger. Radical acceptance and surrender to what is empowers us to face the thought, feeling, or situation head-on and then actually choose how we want to respond to it, rather than just reacting based on an emotional response.

The process of radical acceptance of reality is not easy. It’s hard. I know what I’m asking of you. I ask it of myself all the time, and it’s so difficult. I often find myself distressed or dysregulated by a thought, feeling, or situation, and I have to make a conscious choice to surrender to it before I can begin the process of choosing how I want to respond with intentionality.

If you want to unpack this concept of radical acceptance further, or figure out how to apply it in your daily life or unique circumstance, feel free to schedule an appointment with me and we can totally get this figured out together. You don’t have to do this alone.