What is emotional acceptance?

Often we have an uncomforable feeling, such as sadness, fear or shame, our first reaction is to reject that feeling. 

We may tell ourselves that feeling is a bad feeling that we do not want to have. Then we may do something to try to get rid of the feeling, such as trying to push it away or using drugs or alcohol to feel better.

When we reject our emotions we may actually make things worse for ourselves. often emotions give us helpful information, so geting rid of it is not the best idea.

An alternative to pushing away or stifling your emotions is learning to accept your emotional experiences. Accepting means that you practice allowing your emotions to be what they are without judging them or trying to change them.

Acceptance means letting go of attempts to control your emotions and learning that emotions themselves cannot harm you.