Accepting reality is the key

Accepting reality is the key

— Kashish Banga

We are all aware of the ongoing pandemic that has affected the lives of many!

Undoubtedly, it is one of the greatest challenges that we have ever faced. The virus has affected the world both economically and politically. Other than that, it is majorly affecting the physical and mental health of individuals. Although, all know the effect of COVID-19 on physical health, its effect on psychological well-being is not yet acknowledged. Global situations like this, comes along with a lot of mental distress and trauma. People are filled with anxiety, fear, and negative thoughts. It is no less than an emotional roller coaster ride for individuals.

Since the lockdown has been going on for more than two months now, people are finding it difficult to deal with the ample time they have. People are worried if they would ever be able to move out and resume their lives like before. It is perspicuous how difficult it is to deal with all these emotions, but one thing that can really help individuals cope up with all the negative feelings is accepting the reality. In other words, people need to understand that there is not much we can do about the current situation. Accepting the situation the way it is can help individuals stay positive and calm.

Humans are social animals and hence they need to interact and socialize in order to survive. However, the pandemic has limited the lives of the social animals to just their houses. People are following social distancing, taking the precautions to keep the virus as far as possible and trying to stay safe. However, along with this, they are anxious about many things like their jobs and careers.

The question here is how can they help themselves to alleviate their internal struggles and deal with the negative thoughts?

The most important step is to follow rradical acceptance and accept the circumstances as they are without any sort of judgment and let go of the emotional suffering.

What is radical acceptance?

Radical acceptance is the willingness to accept reality for what it is. It means fully embracing, working with and integrating the facts of the present moment. It is a necessary skill for managing intense emotions and facilitating positive change.

STEPS TO RADICAL ACCEPTANCE ~

• Observe – by observing others, we can learn the effective ways to deal with our emotional difficulties. We can acquire the healthy coping mechanisms from people who are effectively dealing with the current situation. Observation helps us gather information about people that cannot be exchanged verbally. We must also take out time and contemplate about how do we behave in a particular situation and how can we be more positive about it. By thinking and analyzing our own behavior, we can actually eradicate our unhealthy habits.
• Set a reminder - always remind yourself that you cannot change the reality but you can surely accept it. Acceptance in itself is a virtue and one must try and possess it. It not only helps us to relieve our stress but also broadens our vision to look for the positive things in every situation. Once a person starts accepting the fact that whatever has happened or happening, cannot be changed or controlled, the person seems to attain a level of internal peace. And it’s only after that, that the person can step forward and look for the positivity and stay happy.
• Practice - Engage yourself in practicing opposite action by making a list on how you would react if you already accepted these facts. If you feel that these ways are healthier than the ones you were sticking to before, you must practice for the change. It is important that we try to substitute our negative and unhealthy coping strategies with the positive and healthy ones.
• Acknowledge - Acknowledge yourself that problems are a part of life and they are only going to make us stronger than we ever were. Always remember that the dusk is followed by the dawn. The hard times shall pass too but we should learn to stay positive and strong whatever situation may come.
• Allow yourself to feel - Each one of us is feeling plenty of emotions at the same time; feeling scared for our family and friends, anxious because of not being able to work and move out of the house. All these feelings and emotions are a normal reaction to the unprecedented situation. It is normal to feel stressed and anxious. But it is necessary that you try and understand whatever emotion you are feeling and dig deeper to get a comprehension about the reason behind that emotion. You must always reach out to your friends or family in case you feel that you are unable to handle the situation yourself.

Every individual is different and has unique ways to deal with the stress and anxiety, etc. We all know that the current situation is difficult to deal with but it is not impossible. What we all need to do is to stay optimistic! We should try to accept that the situation might take a little longer to get back to normal but one day we shall overcome it. By the time, we should spend some quality time with our families, take out time to meditate, work on improving our skills, etc. There is a lot we can do in this free time. There is a famous saying that ‘when we can do something about a problem, then why worry, and if there is nothing we can do about a problem then why worry’! Because when we can actually do nothing, then even worrying about the situation won’t help. Therefore, we can just attempt to put our negative thoughts in the back seat, accept what we cannot change, and stay calm and healthy.