Acceptance doesn't mean "I am okay with this."
It means "This is what is happening. Now what?"
With practice, it is possible to change your relationship with the distress that appears when adverse things happen.
Instead of becoming caught up in it, it is possible to learn to observe it, acknowledge it, let it move through you in its own time. The last part may not be pleasant. But if you can let go and allow it, then you are not creating an extra layer of distress: fighting it.
It is like being caught in a riptide. You did not choose this. You do not control it. You can only control your response, to whatever degree you have learned to do that.
If you have not learned what to do when caught in a riptide, you may try to swim against the current towards the shore. This would be the obvious choice. But the riptide is stronger than you, and will wear you out before you can reach land.
If you know what to do, you will either try to float without resistance and call for help if you are not a strong swimmer, or swim parallel to the shore until you are free of the riptide. Then you can either be rescued, or swim to shore.
Accepting that you are caught in a riptide doesn't mean you are happy about it. But denying it, or remaining unaware, or getting lost in distress about the situation, will cause additional problems.














