How many times have you tried to accept a challenging situation, but found it hard to do? Acceptance can be elusive but it’s worth the emotional journey to get there. This is especially so to strengthen our mental health. And having a good trusted support network is a key piece of the puzzle. Read on to learn more about the power of acceptance, resilience and the role of social support and improved mental health.

The Power of Acceptance: A Foundation for Mental Well-Being

Life presents us all with situations beyond our control, whether small or large. How we approach these goes a long way to influencing our mental health. We often resist and try to fight back in challenging situations. But this often adds to our stress levels, creates inner tension and frustration, and leaves us no further ahead in resolving those issues nor in feeling good about ourselves.

But cultivating acceptance instead is a key part in improving our mental health, offering benefits for our emotional well-being and strengthening our psychological resilience and ability to cope. Acceptance involves acknowledging and embracing our thoughts, feelings, and experiences without judgment. This includes even unpleasant or distressing ones.

Of course we all differ in the degree we habitually accept our emotions and thoughts without judging them—a process referred to as habitual acceptance. And developing this is a skill nurtured through regular practice.

Acceptance helps keep us from reacting to—and thus exacerbating—our negative mental experiences. Interestingly, acceptance is paradoxical. It’s effective at helping us change our emotions and yet it is done without the intention to change our emotions. In this sense it’s a special case of emotion regulation [1].  

Self-acceptance can be viewed as of three kinds [2]:

• Self-regulation: Suppressing negative emotions, refocusing on the positive aspects of yourself and reframing negative thoughts and feelings to see the opportunities in them
• Self-awareness: Developing insight into your passing feelings and thoughts and letting them come to awareness, including those that are suppressed
• Self-transcendence: Focusing on an unforced sense of connectedness with family, friends and community to feel unity in an authentic way

While there are a number of types of acceptance work, most involve some form of meditation such as transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation and loving kindness meditation. In this work acceptance can be thought of as a process involving the following processes:

• Recognition:  Learning to become aware of our thoughts, feelings and experiences, both internally and externally as they pass through. While not easy at first for some people, with practice it can be developed.
• Non-judgmental observation: Observing these experiences without labelling them as good or bad. This allows us to see them in a more objective way.
• Acceptance: Accepting these experiences as they are, without needing to agree, disagree or control, change or avoid them, leads to acceptance. 

Benefits of Acceptance

Practicing acceptance can bring a number of mental health benefits including:

• Improved emotional regulation:  By observing our emotions without getting caught up in them constantly we can reduce their impact, manage them better and have a more balanced emotional life
• Enhanced emotional well-being: Lowered stress levels, reduced anxiety and depression, feeling better about yourself
• Augmented self-awareness: Develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and enhance our decision-making and behavior
• Increased resilience: Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity. Accepting life’s challenges as they present themselves strengthens our ability to cope and with increased flexibility
• Improved mental health and quality of life: With a healthier relationship to ourselves and others we can enjoy a greater sense of well-being and satisfaction

How Social Support Strengthens Emotional Resilience

Social support can be viewed as support accessible to an individual through social ties to other individuals, groups and the larger community. It plays a key role in strengthening emotional resilience, supporting mental health and overall well-being. This connection between social support and resilience has a number of dimensions, including [3]:

Enhanced Coping Mechanisms

Research shows that coping strategies are enhanced through social support:

• Active coping: If you have a high level of social support, you are likely to use active coping styles. This is associated with better mental health outcomes.
• Stress management: It’s easier to manage stress reactions if you have supportive relationships.
• Resource use: Social support enables you to draw on various resources to overcome challenges and setbacks.

Improved Emotional Regulation

Strong social connections contribute to better emotional management:

• Positive emotion sharing: Sharing with others creates and maintains strong, caring relationships, which nourishes emotional resilience.
• Reduced negative reactions: Those with supportive relationships tend to have decreased negative emotional responses to stressors.
• Buffering effect: Social support can alleviate the harmful impacts of stressful events.

Psychological Benefits

Social support significantly impacts various aspects of mental health:

• Reduced risk of mental health issues: Strong social support is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.
• Enhanced self-esteem: Supportive relationships that foster reassurance of worth contribute to better psychological adjustment.
• Increased sense of purpose: Engaging in meaningful activities that contribute to others’ well-being often has a large social component, promoting resilience.

Physical Advantages

The benefits of social support extend to physical health:

• Pain reduction: Caring touch from healthcare workers has been shown to reduce pain in accident victims for up to six months.
• Improved medical outcomes: Social support is associated with better health outcomes and reduced mortality from medical illnesses.

Mental Health

Support is crucial for mental health. Combining acceptance with support can lead to:

• Improved emotional well-being: Acceptance and support help people acknowledge their feelings without judgment, reducing levels of anxiety, depression, and stress.
• Greater psychological flexibility: This combination allows people to be more ope and adaptable to their experiences, reducing rigidity in thinking and behavior.
• Enhanced mindfulness skills: Both acceptance and support encourage being present and fully engaged in the current moment.
• Stronger social connections: Support from otters fosters a sense of belonging and reduces feelings of isolation, which are key for mental health.
• Increased motivation for self-care: With support, people are more likely to engage in activities that promote mental well-being.

Improving Mental Health in Utah

Treatment is available in Utah. Are you or a loved one looking for a compassionate space to heal from trauma or PTSD, other mental health conditions, or addictions? Our licensed trauma-informed professional therapists and counselors at Corner Canyon Health Centers can provide compassionate help using a range of therapeutic and holistic techniques.

Reach out to our Admissions team now at Corner Canyon. We’re in a peaceful setting bordered by the beautiful Wasatch Mountains.

Sources

[A] Ford BQ, Lam P, John OP, Mauss IB. 2018. The psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts: Laboratory, diary, and longitudinal evidence. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2018 Dec;115(6):1075-1092.

[B] Harvard Health.2016. Greater self-acceptance improves emotional well-being.

[C] Ozbay F, Johnson DC, Dimoulas E, Morgan CA, Charney D, Southwick S. Social support and resilience to stress: from neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2007 May;4(5):35-40.