Advanced Distress Tolerance Skills: Improve the Moment 55 How could you have changed your response to this situation so that it led to less
suffering for yourself and others? How could the situation have occurred differently if you had decided to radically
accept the situation?It’s very important to remember that radical acceptance also applies to accepting yourself. In
this case, radical acceptance means embracing who you are without judging or criticizing yourself.
Or, to put it another way, radically accepting yourself means loving yourself just the way you are,
with all of your goodness and all of your faults. Finding the goodness inside of yourself might be a
difficult challenge, especially if you’re struggling with overwhelming emotions. Many people with
this problem often think of themselves as being defective, bad, or unlovable. As a result, they over-
look their good qualities and add more pain to their lives. This is why radically accepting yourself
is so extremely important.
SELF-A FFIRMING STATEMENTS
To begin building a healthier self-image, many people find it helpful to use self-affirming state-
ments. The purpose of these statements is to remind yourself of the good qualities you possess in
order to give you strength and resilience when confronted with distressing situations. This type
of statement will remind you that hidden underneath your sometimes overwhelming emotions is a
caring, loving person who is capable of handling a distressing situation in a healthier way.
example: Self-Affirming Statements
Here are some examples of self-affirming statements. Check () the ones you’re willing to
use, and then create your own:
“I might have some faults, but I’m still a good person.”
“I care about myself and other people.”
“I accept who I am.”
“I love myself.”