Feeling Good Podcast | TEAM-CBT - The New Mood Therapy

386: The Acceptance and Resistance Survey, Part 1 of 2

Mar 4, 2024

Explore the concept of acceptance in mental health as Dr. David Burns and guests conduct a survey on self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and acceptance of the world. Delve into the impact of embracing sadness, self-acceptance struggles, and the balance between motivation and self-criticism. Discover the effects of self-criticism on learning, the value of analytical thinking in sports, and shifting mindsets on personal identity and acceptance.

50:30

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Episode guests

Matt Pierce

Matt May

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The podcast discussed the importance of acceptance in mental health, highlighting people's desire for self-acceptance and acceptance of others, debunking initial assumptions about resistance.

The survey results revealed a struggle in accepting personal identity issues, indicating societal complexities around identity and the challenges individuals face in embracing aspects tied to their sexuality.

Deep dives

Matt Pierce's Journey to Joining the Feeling Great App Team

Matt Pierce, a successful business professional, was initially driven to explore mental health due to the challenges faced by nurses on his healthcare staffing platform. Witnessing how mental health issues affected nurses and his personal experience with loss led him to seek tools for self-advocacy and supporting loved ones. Connecting with team therapy through a colleague, Jeremy Carmel, Matt's background in business complemented the app's mission, leading him to become a co-founder. His business acumen and genuine interest in mental health enriched the company's growth and his personal growth journey.

Introduction

2min

Exploring Mental Health and Acceptance Through Surveys

16min

Embracing Sadness and Self-Acceptance

19min

Exploring the Effects of Self-Criticism and Positive Reinforcement on Learning and Performance

2min

Embracing Analytical Thinking and Positive Coaching in Sports

2min

Shifting Mindsets on Personal Identity and Acceptance

3min

The Art of Gratitude and Self-Acceptance

6min

Accept this Sh__? Hell No!

Rhonda and David are joined in today’s podcast by two dear friends, Dr. Matt May, a popular regular on our show, and Matt Pierce, a co-founder of the soon-to-be-released Feeling Great App

Brief bio sketch of Matt Pierce goes here, should you wish to include it in the show notes. Matt,. A pic would also be great, but not required. People get tired of the same pics each week, so a fresh face to illustrate this episode would be cool!

You’ve probably heard about acceptance. It’s a popular buzzword in the mental health space these days. In fact, some experts claim that it’s THE key to happiness and enlightenment.

It’s NOT, but it can be incredibly helpful.

I wanted to learn more about Acceptance and put some numbers on it’s effectiveness, or lack of effectiveness, so I recently sent an invitation to the 45,000 people on my mailing lists to complete a new survey on acceptance and resistance. More than 1,000 quickly responded, which was great. I hoped the data could provide some answers questions like these:

What is acceptance?
How interested are we in accepting themselves, other people, and the world?
Many people, and perhaps most of us, strenuously resist acceptance. Why?
What are the things that we have the most trouble accepting about ourselves and others?
Is all the hype about acceptance justified? Does it actually have meaningful effects on how we feel?
Can money buy happiness? And if so, how much, exactly, does it cost?
Why are single people more depressed and unhappy than people with partners? And if so, is it because of the lack of a loving partner? Or was there some other reason?

Thanks for listening, David, Rhonda and Matt