{"id":1095,"date":"2016-10-11T14:47:18","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T18:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/?p=1095"},"modified":"2016-10-11T14:47:18","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T18:47:18","slug":"are-you-in-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2016\/10\/are-you-in-denial.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You In Denial?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"denial1\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Denial\u2026It ain\u2019t just a river in Egypt!\u00a0 The degrees of it in our lives vary, but I firmly believe that every single human on Earth has experienced it at some point in our lives.\u00a0 This is because, for a time, denial serves us. \u00a0We deny what we cannot accept or handle, and it protects us from ourselves.\u00a0 But it cannot last forever.\u00a0 At some point, the veil falls, and we become hyperaware of whatever it is we were trying to deny, which can be so painful.\u00a0 We may feel shame from it, or aggravated from it, but that can be normal when beginning to process things we have denied for so long!<\/p>\n

Sometimes, it looks easier to be in denial.\u00a0 As the saying goes, \u201cIgnorance is bliss.\u201d\u00a0 Denial does not stay blissful for long.\u00a0 It becomes a monster that grows and grows, skewing our behavior, creating chaos and unmanageability in our lives.\u00a0 Denial and control go hand in hand; as long as we deny that we are being controlling and do not change our behavior, we will continue to control and deny as a form of trying to feel in control in the mess that we\u2019ve gotten into.<\/p>\n

How do we defeat denial, then?\u00a0 What can we do to thrust ourselves from denial and into recovery from it?\u00a0 The key is acceptance.\u00a0 Rather than using all of our energy to fight against something that we cannot escape, we can accept that there is an issue, and go about trying to solve it.\u00a0 We will save energy, and feel less chaotic if we begin to accept.\u00a0 Accepting things about ourselves does not mean that we are giving up.\u00a0 It means that we are standing up, willing and ready to fight whatever comes our way from a place of strength rather than anxiety.<\/p>\n

I hope that today, you can challenge yourself to look inward and see if there is anything you think you\u2019re having a hard time accepting.\u00a0 If there is, remind yourself that it\u2019s okay to accept ourselves for who we are, even if we feel as though we have to make changes in our behavior.\u00a0 Once you start accepting, you can begin recovering!<\/p>\n

Sherry Gaba, LCSW, Radio Host, Certified Transformation Coach and author of\u00a0 the award winning book, The Law of Sobriety:Attracting Positive Energy for a Powerful Recovery and Ecourse www.wakeuprecovery.com. www.sherrygaba.com <\/em>sherry@sgabatherapy.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Find out if you are #codependent. Take my quiz.\u00a0 http:\/\/sherrygaba.com\/co-dependency-quiz\/<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Denial\u2026It ain\u2019t just a river in Egypt!\u00a0 The degrees of it in our lives vary, but I firmly believe that every single human on Earth has experienced it at some point in our lives.\u00a0 This is because, for a time, denial serves us. \u00a0We deny what we cannot accept or handle, and it protects…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":402,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You In Denial? - The Celebrity Therapist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thecelebritytherapist\/2016\/10\/are-you-in-denial.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You In Denial? 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