Many of us with addictions and mental health issues have a tendency to resist our pain rather than accept it. We have developed such a resistance over the years, often unconsciously, that we are giving our painful thoughts and emotions even more power over us. When we can learn to accept them, we are able to face our pain head on, which allows its energy to flow naturally rather than remain stuck, causing us more pain.
Having acceptance for our difficulties means we stop fighting them. We stop fighting ourselves, the people in our lives, and the world around us. We embrace ourselves with self-love and compassion. We seek to understand our pain, where it’s coming from and how it’s manifesting in our lives. We allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable which opens us up to the healing power of the truth. We start to listen to our intuitive guidance that leads us to the techniques and tools we can use in our recovery. Acceptance is the gateway to healing.
When we resist our emotional pain, we try to ignore it, avoid it and distract ourselves from it. We bury it under our compulsions, toxic thought patterns and addictive behaviors. We use our drugs of choice as a way to try to escape our thoughts, numb our pain and self-medicate. When we are in resistance, we’re not listening to our inner voice that is reaching out for help, asking us to pay attention to the parts of us that need to be healed. When we give our attention and energy to those hurting parts of us and actively choose to accept them rather than resist them, we can let them be incorporated into the wholeness of our being with love.
Choosing to have acceptance is an important part of recovery. We’re choosing to be at peace with our difficulties rather than continuing the confusion, conflict and turmoil we’ve grown used to. We choose honesty rather than denial. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is not weakness, it’s strength. It takes courage to face and accept our pain. We can choose to be proud of ourselves for being brave and for meeting our challenges with acceptance. We can choose self-love and self-acceptance. We can choose to embrace ourselves with understanding, compassion and empathy.
It takes time to undo the mental, emotional and behavioral patterns we’ve developed. Call (575) 586-5078 for more information on how we can help support you in your recovery.