Meet Victorious Blogger Douglas Cootey


This woman is accepting a present. She looks pretty happy. Now accepting precedes opening. Acceptance is the first step.

 I remember when I was in my twenties I had chronic back pain, it was severe, discouraging, inconvenient. I tried everything, X-rays which showed 'there was nothing wrong', cortisone shots, chiropractic, changing some of the ways that I lifted things and how I sat. Very little made any difference.

 I ran into an old friend who asked how my back was. I said 'It's the same. I've given up going to doctors though.'

 "Good"  she said "you've accepted it."

 "Yes, I guess I have" I replied. But just because I accepted it didn't mean I quit searching for solutions and making changes that I hoped would help.

 Just because I accepted it didn't mean I was giving up.

 What would the opposite of acceptance be? Maybe denial? Or resistance? or rebellion? Those emotions require a lot of energy and are counter-productive.

 Denial would be thoughts like 'this is wrong', 'I shouldn't be this way' or 'I don't deserve this'.
None of those things are proactive choices.

 Acceptance can actually be proactive and even productive.

 Acceptance would be thoughts like 'it is what it is', or 'this is awful but I can search for some solutions'.

 One of my favourite depression blogs is Chipur. He had a fantastic New Year's message for 2016 where he said:

 "Accept your symptoms, suffering, disease, and all that comes with them. It’s all very real, isn’t it? So why deny? All that does is encourage unrealistic expectations and internal conflict. Still, always keep in mind, acceptance doesn’t equate to acquiescence."

 An attitude of acceptance can neutralize unpleasant and irritating experiences.... says Steve Taylor author of 'Out of the Darkness'.

 There are benefits to acceptance.

It 'can neutralize unpleasant and irritating experiences'.

I'm all for that.

 WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Is this a step that might help you in your journey -  accepting depression?

Don't give up! There is hope for depression.

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