Some Aspects of Unconditional Acceptance
What is unconditional acceptance? Scientists today consider it to be a very efficient coping mechanism. Does it work differently for religious and for non-religious people?
The concept of unconditional acceptance is rarely taken into discussion in today's pragmatic world. It is a concept or a trait mostly used in religious contexts or in ethical ones. But the interesting fact is that this idea, severely mocked by many categories of people, is now gaining ground in scientific domains. One of them is psychology. Scientists like Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis began to do some research around this subject and their data has proven that this trait is not only ethical or religiously wanted but is also very useful for mental health.
As a first aspect, it is important to know that unconditional acceptance encompasses 3 dimensions: self acceptance, others acceptance and acceptance of life in general. It is well-known that people need to draw sense out of things and the great majority need reasons before adopting a way of thinking. The reasons which explain the first two dimensions lie in the key-word "value". One needs to accept himself and the others for the simple fact that they are human and that this gives them ultimate value. Adopting this mental schema alleviates people of a lot of problems.
1. The first avoided problem is self-downing. When people accept themselves unconditionally they stop blaming themselves in excess, they feel motivated to engage in various activities, they reduce the risks to develop depression and also the level of anxiety is lower.
2. Another avoided problem is conflictual relationships. When someone accepts others unconditionally it is easier to solve conflicts because it is easier to forgive and is also easier to keep relationships because people feel safe near those who don't have very high expectations from them.
3. Nevertheless, the third dimension, unconditional acceptance of life in general is a bit problematic. The problem arises from the question: why to accept life even when it seems to be terribly unfair? There are different answers for this question. Religious people believe that their God is sovereign and even though the world is unjust He is still in control and one day He will make all things right. They also believe that they aren't living on this earth to be happy but to build a stronger character and to resemble more to Jesus Christ, their Savior. Some non-religious people, but spiritual ones, believe in values and in the integrity of self, and they have the perspective that they can take some benefit from every situation, no matter how unjust or cruel this might be. Others accept life only for their mental health and others simply hate the idea of unconditional acceptance.
4. Another aspect related to this concept takes into account the distinction between unconditional self-acceptance and self-esteem. It is proven that low self-esteem leads to depression, but an interesting idea was brought forward by Albert Ellis who said that even a high level of self-esteem would not stop the development of depression but might actually also contribute to it. The argument comes from the fact that raising ones self-esteem would make him engage in various activities with very high expectations from them. When failure would eventually happen and especially when it will continue to come (because failure is a normal part of the human existence) the high level of the person's self-esteem is affected and the person falls even worse. The solution brought by Ellis says that unconditional self-acceptance would allow an accurate appraisal of one person's strengths and weaknesses, without leading to depression. This would further make the person expose herself to some activities and try or even avoid others. When failure comes, the person won't feel threatened, but will accept that it is normal to fail every once in a while. It is important to emphasize the fact that unconditional acceptance diminishes the tendency to evaluate the self as a global concept, but rather to assign value to the person and to correct or blame only the wrong behavior.
In conclusion, unconditional acceptance is these days not only promoted by religious and ethical domains but also by psychology. The Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy promoted by Albert Ellis states that this trait is a very healthy mental mechanism that leads to functional emotions, thus it diminishes the chances to develop depression, anxiety and anger.
As a first aspect, it is important to know that unconditional acceptance encompasses 3 dimensions: self acceptance, others acceptance and acceptance of life in general. It is well-known that people need to draw sense out of things and the great majority need reasons before adopting a way of thinking. The reasons which explain the first two dimensions lie in the key-word "value". One needs to accept himself and the others for the simple fact that they are human and that this gives them ultimate value. Adopting this mental schema alleviates people of a lot of problems.
1. The first avoided problem is self-downing. When people accept themselves unconditionally they stop blaming themselves in excess, they feel motivated to engage in various activities, they reduce the risks to develop depression and also the level of anxiety is lower.
2. Another avoided problem is conflictual relationships. When someone accepts others unconditionally it is easier to solve conflicts because it is easier to forgive and is also easier to keep relationships because people feel safe near those who don't have very high expectations from them.
3. Nevertheless, the third dimension, unconditional acceptance of life in general is a bit problematic. The problem arises from the question: why to accept life even when it seems to be terribly unfair? There are different answers for this question. Religious people believe that their God is sovereign and even though the world is unjust He is still in control and one day He will make all things right. They also believe that they aren't living on this earth to be happy but to build a stronger character and to resemble more to Jesus Christ, their Savior. Some non-religious people, but spiritual ones, believe in values and in the integrity of self, and they have the perspective that they can take some benefit from every situation, no matter how unjust or cruel this might be. Others accept life only for their mental health and others simply hate the idea of unconditional acceptance.
4. Another aspect related to this concept takes into account the distinction between unconditional self-acceptance and self-esteem. It is proven that low self-esteem leads to depression, but an interesting idea was brought forward by Albert Ellis who said that even a high level of self-esteem would not stop the development of depression but might actually also contribute to it. The argument comes from the fact that raising ones self-esteem would make him engage in various activities with very high expectations from them. When failure would eventually happen and especially when it will continue to come (because failure is a normal part of the human existence) the high level of the person's self-esteem is affected and the person falls even worse. The solution brought by Ellis says that unconditional self-acceptance would allow an accurate appraisal of one person's strengths and weaknesses, without leading to depression. This would further make the person expose herself to some activities and try or even avoid others. When failure comes, the person won't feel threatened, but will accept that it is normal to fail every once in a while. It is important to emphasize the fact that unconditional acceptance diminishes the tendency to evaluate the self as a global concept, but rather to assign value to the person and to correct or blame only the wrong behavior.
In conclusion, unconditional acceptance is these days not only promoted by religious and ethical domains but also by psychology. The Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy promoted by Albert Ellis states that this trait is a very healthy mental mechanism that leads to functional emotions, thus it diminishes the chances to develop depression, anxiety and anger.
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