Acceptance and Psychedelics
Written by: MADELINE FERGUSON
We all know what acceptance means, it's easy to define (the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered), but much harder to practice.
Acceptance can be applied to all aspects of our lives, from childhood traumas and mental illness to current circumstances at work and tough family relationships. And oftentimes, acceptance is one of the most important steps in living a happy and present life.
Acceptance is the final stage of grief and an important part in many 12 step programs. There are entire modalities of therapy based around acceptance, like ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) and radical acceptance theory.
All that to say, learning to implement acceptance in your own life can be transformational.
A few things that can help you implement acceptance are meditation and simply practice. If you start small with acceptance you can work your way up. For example, start with accepting things like traffic and minor inconveniences, this helps your brain get used to stopping, breathing and accepting the bigger things about life.
And as for meditation, even just five minutes a day can help you slow down and work on those breathing skills which can be helpful when it comes to using acceptance therapeutically.
Psychedelics And Acceptance
Now that you understand the power of acceptance and some ways to cultivate it, let’s talk about another tool many people say took their ability to accept life’s circumstances to the next level - psychedelics.
Psychedelics is an umbrella term for substances that alter your mind and can sometimes cause hallucinations. Some of the most common ones are psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD (acid) and sometimes people consider MDMA (molly) a part of this family.
The mental health benefits of psychedelics, especially psilocybin, are obvious in both anecdotal settings and now, more and more, scientific ones. One of the main ways we understand psychedelics can help with a variety of mental health issues (depression, anxiety, PTSD etc.) is because these substances can help open up new neural pathways to get you out of certain types of habitual thinking and disordered thinking.
Psychedelics are also a very helpful reminder to live in the moment and they kind of help people see the big picture rather than getting tied down in the day-to-day, busybody thinking that can make life feel dull and even sad.
In this sense, psychedelics can help folks cultivate acceptance of mental states, life circumstances and even relationships with family, friends and partners. These powerful substances can also help you decide what paths of life will be most authentic to you.
Something you must remember when using these substances is integration. You must take the time after your psychedelic experience to process your thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is also important to avoid making drastic life changes immediately after a trip. Give it time, give it some thought and then learn to accept.
