The Power of Radical Acceptance

Let’s face it. Life can be painful. While we can’t avoid pain, our resistance to accept reality only exacerbates our suffering. In this podcast episode, we sat down with Patrice Cristosomo, PhD and Leeanne Merritt, LCSW, to discuss the power of Radical Acceptance – a practice that involves letting go of the illusion of control and developing a willingness to accept things as they are right now.

Life has perhaps never felt more out of our control than it has over the past year. But refusing to accept our reality doesn’t change its outcome. Rather it increases the suffering that comes from the futility of fighting against it. Enter Radical Acceptance: the practice of letting go of the illusion of control and being willing to accept things as they are right now.

In this episode, Patrice Cristosomo, PhD and Leeanne Merritt, LCSW, discuss the life-changing power of radical acceptance and share strategies for making the conscious choice to stop resisting and denying the way things are. It doesn’t mean we have to like or agree with the situation, just acknowledge it in order to reduce the suffering caused by trying to change something that’s out of our control. Only when we accept it all the way, just as it is, can we work on changing our behaviors and emotions in order to improve our situation and, ultimately, our lives.

All Voices of Compassion podcast episodes are available on-demand to stream or download. Listen to The Power of Radical Acceptance online at podcasts.chconline.org. You can also subscribe to Voices of Compassion on Apple podcasts, Spotify and other podcast apps.

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