How Accepting Emotions Can Improve Emotional Health

How Accepting Emotions Can Improve Emotional Health BPD Living With BPD Print How Accepting Emotions Can Improve Emotional Health By Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, PhD Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Eastern Connecticut State University. Learn about our editorial policy Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, PhD Updated on June 22, 2019 Noa/Getty Images More in BPD Living With BPD Diagnosis Treatment Related Conditions Many people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and other psychiatric disorders that involve intense emotional experiences  have trouble accepting emotions. It’s very hard to deal with emotions that are painful, extreme and sometimes even scary; however, accepting your emotions can actually help improve your emotion regulation and lead to fewer mood swings and more emotional balance. What Is Emotional Acceptance? Often, when we have an uncomfortable feeling, such as sadness, fear or shame, our first reaction is to reject that feeling. We may tell ourselves that feeling is a bad feeling that we do not want to have. Then we may do something to try to get rid of the feeling, such as trying to push it away or using drugs or alcohol to feel better. Certainly, no one wants to walk around feeling emotional pain all the time, but when we reject our emotions, we may actually make things worse for ourselves. Often emotions arise because they give us helpful information about the world, so sometimes getting rid of or pushing away emotions is not the best idea. An alternative to pushing away or stifling your emotions is learning to accept your emotional experiences. Accepting means that you practice allowing your emotions to be what they are without judging them or trying to change them. Acceptance means letting go of attempts to control your emotions and learning that emotions themselves cannot harm you, although the things you do to try to get rid of emotions, such as abusing alcohol, can harm you. Accepting Emotions Is Not Resigning Yourself to Pain It is important to make the distinction between acceptance and resignation. Accepting emotions does not mean that you resign yourself to always feeling terrible or wallowing in pain. It also doesnt mean that you hold on to painful emotions or try to push yourself to experience emotional pain. Acceptance simply means being aware of your emotions and accepting them for what they are right now, knowing that they wont last. As a metaphor for acceptance, imagine that you are a soldier who has fought a long battle with your emotions. Acceptance is the act of putting down your weapons and walking away from the fight. You are not resigning yourself to be beaten up by your emotions; you are simply letting go of the struggle. In some ways, accepting emotions means also accepting that emotions will change. When we are happy, we have to accept that it is a short-term condition; we will not always be happy. This goes for every type of emotion, from fear to anxiety to sadness. Feelings are fleeting and usually go away within seconds, minutes or hours. Why Do People With BPD Have Trouble Accepting Emotions? There are a few reasons why people with BPD, in particular, have trouble accepting emotions, although it is important to note that everyone has trouble accepting emotions sometimes. First, people with BPD are often raised in emotionally invalidating environments. These are environments where feelings are not accepted. Sometimes people with BPD were punished for expressing feelings, or sometimes they were told that they were weak for having feelings. This can lead a person with BPD to have trouble accepting their own emotions in adult life. Second, people with BPD experience very intense emotions and this intensity make it harder to accept them. People with BPD will often describe feeling that they are afraid their emotions will “overwhelm” or “destroy” them. As a result, many people with BPD feel very afraid of their emotions and are convinced that they cannot tolerate their feelings. Why Accepting Emotions Is Helpful Why is accepting your emotions helpful? What is the point of trying to accept your emotions, and wouldn’t it be easier to just get rid of them? Well, no, it isn’t easy to get rid of emotions. In fact, most people with BPD have tried to get rid of their emotions with little success. What they have learned, and what research supports, is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for us to just get rid of an emotion. We have emotions for a reason, so you shouldnt want to get rid of them completely. Emotions are part of a complex system that helps us decide what we should stay away from and what we should approach. Emotions also help us keep lasting relationships with other people. Without emotions, we would make terrible decisions all the time. Therefore, accepting emotions is helpful, because when we listen to our emotions, we can actually learn important information. How to Practice Accepting Emotions It is not easy to learn how to accept emotions  because they often do not feel very good and we have instincts that may tell us to avoid them. With persistent practice, though, you can learn how to be more accepting of your emotions. Mindfulness meditation, or the practice of being aware of both your internal and external experiences, can be tremendously useful as you are learning how to accept your emotions. You can try a sitting meditation and mindful breathing exercises.