[Gentle music]
Hi, I'm Dr. Chang, a Psychologist in
Supervised Practice with the Child and
Youth Mental Health Program. Today I want to talk to you about a skill we call radical acceptance.
During the pandemic,
we know that people are in situations
that they did not expect. Maybe you were
really excited to perform in the school
play, or to go to prom, and now those
things have been cancelled.
Maybe just having to be home and not being able to
see your friends as much as you'd like is really hard.
Regardless of the situation, we know that
 there are different ways you can respond.
We can
engage in problem-solving or try to
change how we feel about the situation.
We can accept the situation, we can stay
miserable, and sometimes we can even do things to make the situation worse,
maybe by letting our emotions 
or impulses take over.
Problem-solving is a wonderful
option when we can do that, but we know
that sometimes some situations just
can't be changed, and in those, practicing
radical acceptance can be really helpful.
Radical acceptance is a choice to accept
a situation fully for what it is.
It really means moving from the stance of
like, "Ugh, why me? Why is this happening ?"
to a stance of, "Things are as they are."
When we practice radical acceptance, we
want to be accepting and willing both
mentally and physically.
So if you're finding that you're really fighting in
reality, there's like a lot of tension in
your body, or you're just really not
into it, take a deep breath.
Try opening your palms up to a more 
willing stance and reminding yourself,
"Things are as they are," or "It is what it is."
Remembering that acceptance does not mean approval,
so, just because we choose to accept 
a situation, to reduce our own pain and suffering,
it doesn't mean that we're saying 
that we like it, that we endorse it,
or that we're okay with it. It's just
a choice to help us cope in that moment.
Radical acceptance can be helpful in all
different aspects of life, so maybe give it a try.
Thanks. Bye.
