Radical acceptance is one of the most useful and also the most difficult skill (I personally think) to master within DBT.
So what is radical acceptance?
This skill is designed to help stop your emotional suffering at a time when a situation cannot be changed. Many of us have unhelpful coping techniques that we may use to ignore the situation, for example self harm, drugs or alcohol. While these coping tools help us feel better in the short term, the long term damage to our bodies and mind can be devastating. Radical acceptance is about accepting the current situation or emotion, without fighting against it.
How does it help?
Accepting pain is the first step to feeling better, ignoring it only builds up the emotion leading to more pain in the future. Although it's very difficult to accept our pain, its a big part of life that we must come to terms with.
How to radically accept
- Acknowledge that pain is normal and won't last forever.
- Allow yourself to really feel where the emotion is in your body.
- Notice if you have thoughts to fight against the emotion ('I shouldn't feel this way' 'Its not fair')
- Remember that fighting against it will only make it worse in the long run.
This skill comes under the model 'Distress tolerance'
Keep practicing your skills! It gets better, believe me.
Becky x
