Why Learning to Accept Emotions Reduces Overwhelm

The feeling of being overwhelmed may be close to having too many tabs in your mind simultaneous thoughts, feelings, responsibilities, and worries, all demanding your attention. Even minor issues in that state can become urgent, and it is not hard to begin the fight with your own feelings on top of everything. One important step is to accept emotions rather than struggling against them.

Emotional acceptance is one way to soften that internal fight. It does not imply that you are fond of what is going on or that you lose concern. It is to make space to what you feel - not to judge it, not to repress it, not to attempt to make it fade away, but so that you can react with somewhat greater stability.

A quiet moment of reflection that encourages us to pause, breathe, and accept emotions instead of resisting them.

Key takeaways

• Acceptance has nothing to do with approving of emotions but letting them be.

• Arguing with a feeling causes you to take up energy that can be used to cope and solve problems.

• There is very little that can be more effective than acceptance as a repeated habit rather than additional attitude.

• It makes sense to seek help when you find the feelings to be stubborn, extreme or beyond your control.

A reasonable start point: choose one feeling that you have been avoiding and give it a name without trying to solve it at the moment.

What It Means to Accept Emotions (And What It Doesn’t)

In its simplest form, emotional acceptance is the recognition of what you are experiencing as a reality at this point. You may feel sad, angry, dreadful, shameful, relieved, or all of these or all of them--and may it be so--and may it be so without an instant thrust at it.

One can perhaps imagine acceptance as a position: “This is now present here. That is not like this is forever, and neither is that like this should not be here.

What Emotional acceptance is:

• Becoming aware and identifying emotions (I am anxious, I am disappointed)

• Permitting the sensations (tight chest, heaviness, restlessness) to be, without panic.

• Creating room to feel and at the same time decide on what to do next.

What Emotional acceptance isn’t:

• Resignation (“Nothing can change”)

• Pretending you’re fine

• Allowing emotions to guide all decisions.

The research indicates that acceptance-based skills can aid the regulation of emotions (how you handle emotions) and well-being, but the impact of the latter can be different in individuals and circumstance. As an example, the use of acceptance training was found to be associated with better utilization of other coping skills such as cognitive reappraisal (reframing a thought more in a balanced manner).

Try this: each time a feeling spikes, say to yourself This is a feeling, not a verdict and allow yourself to observe the feeling in 10 seconds.

The benefits of Emotional acceptance when overpowered

When you feel overwhelmed, the emotion is usually viewed on the part of your brain as a problem that should be solved right now. This pattern is especially common in conversations around teen mental health and wellness, where intense feelings can seem urgent and confusing.

Instead of being able to accept emotions, there is often an urge to eliminate the feeling. One might experience the desire to eliminate a feeling which may result in spinning thoughts (What is wrong with me?), avoidance (I will take this up later), or self-blame (I should not feel this way). The reactions thereof are explicable--but they may be a second burden of burden.

The second layer can be reduced with the help of acceptance. You can, in place of using all your energy to fight the emotion, have more of it to:

• Do what is important at this moment.

• Take the next small step

• Communicate more clearly

• Employ familiar coping mechanisms.

That is why acceptance appears in the treatment and skills-based techniques, which involve the control of emotions. The research among other populations indicates that acceptance-related procedures may be linked with more adaptive adjustment and lesser distress related symptoms even though they do not act as a switch and they do not guarantee.

In practice, it can be helpful to think of emotional acceptance as making room for feelings so your values and choices have space to lead.

As a beginning point: Can you find at least one occasion today when you can replace the question of How do I stop this feeling? with the question What do I need when this feeling is present?

Accept Emotions vs. Resignation: Understanding the Difference

It is easy to confuse acceptance and resignation as it may seem to be similar on the surface but very different internally.

The most common interpretations of resignation include: it is so futile, nothing will help, and why bother. It has the propensity to narrow down your choice.

Acceptance is further like: This is difficult, and it is factual. What can I do next?” It leaves the door open to change -even when you cannot change everything yet.

The following is a brief check-in question:

• Resignation: Is such an idea shrinking me and fixing me?

• Acceptance: Does this thought allow me to confront reality and get going?

Grief, disappointment and anger may be incorporated in acceptance. It may also contain the boundaries, problem-solving and seeking help. It’s not passive. It’s honest.

Breath: write one sentence beginning with I don’t like this, but I can and make it as short and narrow as possible.

Simple Daily Habits That Help You Accept Emotions Under Stress

The acceptance is easier when it comes into being. These are easy habits that most individuals apply at the time of stress and anxiety or or when going through rough times to help prevent high functioning burnout.

Name it without judgment

Name the feeling and pass the judgment. Being anxious and failing is not the same as I am anxious. Labeling can eliminate confusion and your brain can sort out what is going on.

Notice where it lives in the body

Emotions tend to manifest themselves in the form of feelings, tight, hot, heavy, restless. You are not attempting to get the feeling to disappear. It is mere observation of it as information.

Let the feeling ride “in the passenger seat”

You are able to act in the companionship of emotions. You may still go to the appointment, conduct the conversation or cook dinner--anxiety or sorrow in your bag.

Use a gentle reframe

Flexible thinking is appropriate with acceptance. It has been found that acceptance training might be useful in helping some individuals to be more effective in using reappraisal to make a choice, i.e. you are able to see a painful thought and yet adopt a more stable point of view.

Select one course of action with values.

Ask: “What matters to me here?” Following that, then step in a direction that is consistent with that; rest, honesty, kindness, patience, follow-through or connection.

One of the practical follow-ups: choose one of the tools above and apply it once today to a low stressor, so that when things grow bigger it is more available.

Also READ - How Investing in Self-Care Can Improve Quality of Life

When to seek professional help

And there are times when it is not just a rough week, and learning to accept emotions on your own may not be sufficient. It may be chronic, so acute, or difficult to treat using self-help techniques alone, particularly when sleep, relationships, work and daily functioning are already involved.

A clinical practitioner will assist you to un-puzzle what’s causing the patterns and develop skills that make sense in your life. Acceptance-based methods are frequently combined with more comprehensive care strategies, such as emotion regulation and coping support and values-based decision-making therapy. Clinical and medical population evidence indicates that acceptance related processes may be associated with less distress or greater adjustment, but still it is important to tailor support to your needs.

In cases where this subject is delicate, you are permitted to break, take a breath and return to the subject later. You do not need to do it flawlessly in order to gain.

In case it seems pressing: call someone you can rely on today or a professional even though all you can say is that you are not doing well and you need some help.

Hope for your journey

Feeling overwhelmed can make you believe that you are stuck or broken or lagged behind. It is usually an indicator that you have too much work, too fast, without sufficient rest.

Acceptance does not imply that pain is removed at the word of command, however, it might help to decrease the fight surrounding the pain and provide you with a firmer footing on which to take the next steps.

You can start small. One emotion named. One breath taken on purpose. Accept emotions without fighting them. Choose the trying version of you.

Safety warning: In case of crisis, call 911 or visit the closest emergency department in case of crisis in yourself or people you love. To access the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline you may also call or text 988 or use 988lifeline.org to chat. The support is free, confidential, and 24/7 available.

Author Bio: This post was contributed by Earl Wagner, a data-driven content strategist who works with mental health organizations to increase awareness of resources for teens and adults.

Sources

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• Hannah E Wolfe, Derek M Isaacowitz. (2022). Aging and emotion regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aging & mental health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2021.1910797

  
  

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