Various forms of evidence-based therapies are used to help treat a range of mental health disorders. DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) is one such option that is used to help people learn coping skills when facing different emotional responses. Radical acceptance for DBT is one aspect of this therapy that helps people when they feel anxious or distressed.
What Is Radical Acceptance?
Radical acceptance is part of DBT’s distress tolerance skills that people learn when they are developing effective coping skills to manage distressing situations and times when they feel anxious. It helps people address situations they have no control over rather than succumb and be overwhelmed by symptoms of their mental health disorder.
DBT’s radical acceptance can be used to address various mental health disorders, including:
- Personality disorders
- Self-harm and suicidal thoughts
- PTSD
- Substance use disorder
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- ADHD
- Anxiety
It can also be used for other mental health issues and concerns, such as:
- Grief
- Divorce
- Loss of a job
- Unexpected life changes that are creating distress or anxiety
- Anger
The concept behind radical acceptance is acknowledging you are unhappy with a particular situation or person. Instead of resorting to negative behaviors or giving in to negative emotions, you use this skill to help manage the situation.
It does not mean we have to approve of the situation or the person’s actions. Rather, radical acceptance skills teach us how to accept the situation or person and realize that we cannot change things out of our control. This helps prevent our pain, distress, or anxiety from taking control and causing us to sink deeper into sadness, anger, and unhappiness.
How Does DBT Help with Radical Acceptance?
DBT helps with radical acceptance because it arms people with a set of tools they can use whenever they face various situations that cause anxiety, pain, or distress. During DBT sessions, individuals work with their therapist one-on-one to learn and practice these skills.
Usually, the therapist will inquire about a distressing situation and how one usually would respond. Then, they work with the individual to help them use different positive approaches to address the same situation. Once they learn various skills, they are better equipped to use them in the real world.
Additionally, these skills may be taught in group DBT sessions, where there can be opportunities for role-play. Role-play helps people practice radical acceptance skills in a controlled setting before having to use them outside therapy.
How to Practice Radical Acceptance at Home
Radical acceptance uses specific steps people need to go through when they are feeling distressed, overwhelmed, or anxious or are in pain due to a particular situation or person. These steps include the following:
- Observations: Take a moment to step back and observe the situation and question why it is affecting you. Acknowledge it should be this way and avoid pushing back.
- Accepting reality: Remind yourself even though it is unpleasant, this is just the way things are, and they are out of your control.
- Reasoning: Take a moment and examine the underlying causes for the current situation and how things occurred. Again, you don’t have to like or approve of the situation. You just need to accept it to move forward.
- Acceptance: The next step is to accept the situation using various skills learned during DBT sessions, such as mindfulness, relaxation, journaling, and meditation.
- Question: It is important to make a list of what behaviors one would use if they accepted the present situation. Once the list is made, use those behaviors to come to terms with acceptance.
- Imagine: Take a moment to imagine different scenarios, one in which you accept the current situation and what would happen once you do. The other scenario is what would happen if you don’t accept the current situation. Then, examine how things would change if you were accepting of the reality of the situation.
- Examine your emotions: This step involves examining your emotions and feelings as you come to acceptance. It also involves examining other sensations, such as tension and the urge to push back. Recognizing these can help you continue to move forward, even when you are unhappy with the present situation.
- Allow negative emotions to occur: It is acceptable to allow yourself to feel any negative feelings that occur, such as disappointment, grief, and sadness. You need to feel and acknowledge these to come to acceptance.
- Embrace the pain: It is vital to accept any pain you are experiencing and realize this is just one small moment in time. You have a life still worth living once you move past this, even though it may not seem possible in the present moment.
- Pros and cons: If you are struggling with applying the tools and techniques of radical acceptance for DBT, write out a list of pros and cons. What are the pros of acceptance and moving forward? What are the cons of moving forward? What are the pros of allowing your pain, distress, or anxiety to take over? What are the cons if you do this? You should find the pros of acceptance far outweigh any cons of moving forward, and it is a much better choice than giving in and letting your emotions take over.
Contact Montare Outpatient about Our DBT for Radical Acceptance
Learning and practicing the steps needed for radical acceptance does take time. With help from Montare Outpatient, our caring and supportive team is here to help you develop effective coping skills for managing your mental health disorder and leading a productive and rewarding life. Contact us today to learn more about DBT for radical acceptance or to schedule an appointment.
Published: 11/15/2024
