AWiBers joined the cozy afternoon seminar titled ‘Radical Acceptance’ on Saturday, October 19, 2024, facilitated by Hasset Chenu, Founder & CEO of Mental Health Addis. Hasset began the session by introducing herself and asking the participants to introduce themselves and what they work on. This supported the members in broadening their network and sharing their businesses to those who were present. 

Hasset then introduced the topic, what radical acceptance is, the signs of not practicing radical acceptance, coping statements and how to practice radical acceptance. She underlined the saying that “what we resist, persists”, outlining that unless we practice radical acceptance we will have a hard time moving on from the ups and downs of life’s journey. 

After participants did a few exercises on the topic, Hasset shared her own intimate story about her struggles with mental health and how she overcame it with the help of radical acceptance. The session ended with Hasset offering free hugs to those who needed one. It was a memorable and impactful session as participants left feeling more aware about mental health and how to practice radical acceptance.

Major Takeaways

• Self reflection, grounding techniques, positive affirmations, mindfulness, and avoiding addictive behaviors are important tools in practicing radical acceptance
• In our culture we often avoid or dwell on negative situations, this does not help us move forward
• Pain is inevitable, but suffering is preventable with the practice of radical acceptance
• A key tool in practicing radical acceptance is understanding how to detach and not make external circumstances or people the definition of our identity
• Radical acceptance does not mean that you agree with the situation but that you have accepted the reality of it and will now plan what to do about it

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