A look at what happens when you've climbed back out of the rabbit hole.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Radical Acceptance

One of the skills being taught at my outpatient program is called "Radical Acceptance." The idea is that the refusal to accept reality is what leads to suffering (and while pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice). In order to overcome your own suffering, you must accept your reality: be it your disease, your family dysfunction, your trauma, whatever. A distinction that has been made (to me in particular) is that acceptance is NOT the same as approval. You can strongly disapprove of a situation, but still accept that it is reality.

I can't do it. Yet, anyway. Or maybe I WON'T do it. There are some "realities" in my life that I simply will not accept. I demand to know why these things have happened, and without a crystal clear explanation (from whom? from God? I don't know...) I won't concede anything.

Kind of a problem. I have my behaviors under control. I'm doing everything that's asked of me, miserable as it makes me feel sometimes. I am trusting the recovery process. But I just can't do the radical acceptance thing.

Shit. Guess I'm stuck for awhile.

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