111 - Friday Fix: How to Reduce Suffering Through Radical Acceptance

The Verywell Mind Podcast

Dotdash Media Inc.

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Education

5 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2021

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When we’re faced with tough situations or unfair circumstances, our tendency is to fight against them. We think about all the reasons those things shouldn’t be happening, rather than accept them for what they are. Unfortunately, refusing to accept a situation creates a lot of unnecessary suffering. This is something I often see as a therapist. This is where radical acceptance comes into play. Research shows it's a great way to begin addressing a situation (and the emotions) head-on so you can move forward. In this Friday Fix, I share how radical acceptance works, what researchers have found about the benefits, and how to start practicing it in your own life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.
0:22.9	This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.
0:45.6	Okay. You're listening to the Friday fix.
0:50.6	Every Friday, I share a quick mental strength exercise that will help fix the thoughts,
0:54.8	emotions, and actions that drain you of the mental strength you need to be your best.
1:00.9	Today I'm talking about radical acceptance. It's a common strategy taught in therapy because practicing it reduces suffering. It's often used in dialectical behavior therapy or DBT as a way
1:08.5	for people to learn how to cope with uncomfortable emotions. So let's talk about what
1:13.5	it really means to practice radical acceptance, what the research says about the benefits,
1:18.3	and how you can start incorporating it into your own life. Acceptance is really about accepting
1:23.7	what is happening right now. You might accept that you're sad, as opposed to trying to
1:28.5	act like you're doing great. Accepting that you feel sad doesn't mean you're going to stay stuck in a
1:33.2	sad mood forever, though. It just means you're going to notice how you feel, observe what happens
1:38.0	to your mind and your body when you feel sad, and then practice some self-compassion for feeling
1:43.0	that way.
1:47.8	You might also practice acceptance when it comes to a situation in your life.
1:51.1	Maybe you didn't get a promotion you thought you deserved.
1:56.5	Perhaps your boss's relative got promoted over you, and you think that's unfair.
2:00.5	Accepting the situation doesn't mean that what happened was okay, but it does mean that you can
2:02.5	acknowledge that it happened without adding all the commentary about this shouldn't have happened
2:07.4	or this isn't fair. Instead, you might accept unfair things do happen sometimes and allow yourself
2:15.2	to experience the emotions that you feel about it.
2:18.1	The main reason we don't practice acceptance is because we don't want to experience emotional
	...

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