Acceptance. I've read a lot about it lately and it is perhaps one of the most important things I have overlooked so far in my life.

If you live with a mental illness you probably think somebody rattling on about acceptance doesn't know how bad you feel or how hard your daily battle can be. That's what I thought anyway. That's why I never paid it much attention. Until now.

What if you can accept every thing just as it is in this moment right now? What if you can accept your past and let it be? It's tough isnt it? So why bother? Why learn about acceptance or try to do it?

Acceptance, is not resignation, nor is it condoning something. It is about saying everything is as it is. It is about letting go and about less struggle. It's about freedom and change.

Acceptance might sound a bit like this:

What happened happened, I dont condone it but I am going to stop trying to avoid it or hope it never happened. I accept what happened and I accept where I am now.

That last sentence took a lot of effort, I wont lie to you. But letting go will allow me to change, will allow me to be happier so I am willing to see if acceptance will help.

Just so you know, it took a long time for me to even entertain the concept of acceptance, let alone practice it, but I thought, what if it truly might help me to move forwards with my life? Wouldn't it be worth exploring?

Acceptance is a concept practiced in Dialectal Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). There are some really good books and websites out there that can give you more information about it.

Jules

A Moodscope user.