Radical Acceptance
True or False:
in order to be effective in accepting reality you do not have to accept with your whole self.
FALSE,
Radical means all the way, complete and total.
It is accepting in your mind, your heart, and your body
When you are turning the mind, what are you turning toward?
Acceptance
What is the first step in Accepting Events?
What is :Think of an Important Event
(Think of an important event in your life that you have a hard time accepting.)
Fill in the blank:
Half-Smiling and Willing Hands is Accepting reality with ________.
your body
What is a Fact?
What are two clues that you might be fighting reality?
1. Feeling bitter or resentful.
2. Thinking life shouldn't be this way.
3. Being regularly unhappy or frustrated with life.
4. Thinking that if X just changed, you wold be happy.
5. Trying to force other people to change their behaviours.
When you are turning the mind, what are you turning away from?
rejecting reality
What is the second step in Accepting Events?
What is : What caused the event?
(Try to think of all the facts that led to the event that you have a hard time accepting.)
True or false:
Emotions are partially controlled by facial expressions. By adopting a serene, accepting face people can control their emotions somewhat
TRUE
What is an Opinion?
What is: Based upon a belief or personal view, arguable, driven by and reinforced by emotion, from the heart.
Radical Acceptance is NOT:
Approval, compassion, love, passivity, or against change.
Radical acceptance doesn't mean any of these things. "It simply means that you are acknowledging reality."
What is the first step in Turning The Mind?
Observe that you are not accepting.
(Look for anger, bitterness, annoyance; avoiding emotions; saying “Why me?”, “Why is this happening?”, “I can’t stand this,” “It shouldn’t be this way.”)
What is the third step in Accepting Events?
What is: Accepting the Feelings
(Can you observe whether certain emotions arise in you when you are thinking about this event?)
Demonstrate willing hands
Look for the person to show unclenched hands turned upwards with palms up and fingers relaxed.
True or False:
Being mindful of our current thoughts means that we are working to distance ourselves from our thoughts so that we can change the relationship with that thought.
TRUE
What is something that interferes with acceptance
Name one of the following:
1. You don’t have the skills for acceptance; you do not know how to accept really painful events and facts.
2. You believe that if you accept a painful event, you are making light of it or are approving of the facts, and that nothing will be done to change or prevent future painful events.
3. Emotions get in the way (unbearable sadness; anger at the person or group that caused the painful event; rage at the injustice of the world; overwhelming shame about who you are; guilt about your own behaviour).
What do you do if your mind turns back towards rejecting reality?
Keep turning your mind to acceptance each time you come to the fork in the road where you can reject reality or accept it.
What is the foruth step in Accepting Events?
What is: Proactive Plan.
(Make a proactive plan about the situation or its effects. Think about how you can improve the situation.)
Name 2 times it is helpful practice Half-Smiling and Willing Hands
Any of the following:
When you first awake in the morning.
During your free moments.
While you are listening to music.
When you are irritated.
In a lying-down position.
In a sitting position.
While you are contemplating a person you hate or despise.
True or False: Radical Acceptance means that I need to be ok with a situation that is bad for me?
What is: False.
To radically accept a past or present situation means to come to terms with the aspects that we cannot change.
True or False: Radical Acceptance is saying that whatever bad things happened to me are ok.
What is False- Practicing radical acceptance does not equal approval, forgiveness or even compassion.
What is the second step of Turning the Mind?
2. Go within yourself and make an inner commitment to accept reality as it is.
Remember- turning the mind is about choosing to radically accept- it is about becoming willing to accept.
True or False: Radical Acceptance is a process.
What is: True.
Usually, radical acceptance is not one and done.
What is another way that you can practice radical acceptance when you are dealing with emotions, thoughts or a situation that you are having a hard time accepting?
What is Coping Statements.
The present moment is the only one I have control over.
I cannot change what has happened in the past.
It is not helpful for me to fight the past.
I can accept this moment as it is.
True or False:
If our thoughts are catastrophic, the events in our life must be catastrophic as well.
FALSE
Although events in life can be catastrophic, thoughts about these events are not themselves catastrophic.