Have you ever experienced that not accepting something in your life ends up worsening your suffering? Pain is a constant in life, just like situations we don't like, such as injustices and unexpected events. It's also a reality that we can't always change what we disagree with. Sometimes we use our thoughts and behavior to try to understand, fix, change, or "get over" what can't be changed at that moment, which can become a problem because those efforts often end up making the experience worse for us or those around us. That's why some mental health experts propose practicing a distress tolerance skill called RADICAL ACCEPTANCE: radical means complete, from the root, totally; it's accepting something deeply, accepting the whole path, with your mind, heart, and body; it's when you stop fighting reality, stop throwing tantrums because reality isn't what you want, and stop bittering yourself about it. It's opening up to fully experience what's happening in that moment. It doesn't mean you have to like what you're experiencing; it means you recognize what's there, even if you don't like it. WHAT RADICAL ACCEPTANCE IS NOT It's not giving up or approving. It's not passivity or opposition to change. It's not compassion. It's not fatalism or resignation. WHY RADICALLY ACCEPT? Rejecting reality doesn't change it. Having the possibility to change reality requires first accepting it as it is, because radical acceptance transforms unbearable suffering into bearable pain. Pain can't be avoided; it's the natural way to signal something is wrong. Rejecting reality turns pain into suffering. Refusing to accept reality can keep you trapped in unhappiness, bitterness, anger, sadness, shame, or other painful emotions. Acceptance can lead to sadness, but it's usually followed by a deep calm. FACTORS THAT INTERFERE WITH RADICAL ACCEPTANCE 1. You don't have acceptance skills; you don't know how to accept truly painful facts and events. 2. You think that if you accept a painful event, you're ignoring or approving the facts, and that nothing will be done to change or prevent future painful events.

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Psychologist Laurie Santos explains that the human brain did not evolve to make us happy, but rather natural selection for us to survive and reproduce creates a disconnect between what we believe will make us happy and what actually works. This causes us to pursue goals that we believe will give us well-being, but in practice they do not. For example, we tend to overestimate the impact of money, promotions or material possessions once our basic needs are met. Furthermore, we have other "factory glitches": -Reference points: We evaluate our life by comparing it with that of others, which makes us feel bad if someone seems to be better off. -Hedonic adaptation: We get used to positive things quickly, losing the initial enthusiasm. -Impact bias: We believe that future events will affect us with greater intensity and duration than actually happens. --- To counteract these tendencies, she proposes five "redesign" practices: -Social connection: The happiest people prioritize physical time with others. Overcoming "sub-sociality" (believing it doesn't matter) is key; even a real call is better than social networks. -Generosity: Orienting yourself toward others produces more happiness than simple self-care. -Appreciation: Thinking before we go to sleep about three things for which we feel lucky improves our well-being in the short and long term. -Savoring: Paying conscious attention to good moments instead of overlooking them. -Movement: Doing exercise of any kind, even if it is only 20 minutes a day, has a direct connection to mental health. --- Which of these "factory glitches" do you notice most in your life?

Hi LIPSers! Today I want to talk to you about ideological stubbornness, the denial of reality, and the self-defense mechanism known as cognitive dissonance. One of the greatest paradoxes of human beings is our ability to cling to ideas that have been proven false or even harmful, even when the evidence against them is abundant, clear, and accessible. This refusal to reexamine beliefs is not merely a matter of ignorance, but a deeply human phenomenon, tied to identity, fear, and the need to belong. Ideologies and beliefs are rarely experienced as mere opinions; rather, they serve as pillars that support our worldview and our sense of self. Questioning them can feel like a personal threat: accepting that a core idea is wrong implies acknowledging that we may have contributed to harm, been deceived, or deceived others. For many people, that emotional cost is unbearable. This is where the denial of evidence comes into play. When facts contradict our beliefs, we do not always revise those beliefs; often we do the opposite: we discredit the data, attack the source, or reinterpret reality so that it fits our prior framework. This mechanism, known as cognitive dissonance, acts as a psychological shield that protects internal coherence, even at the expense of truth. The problem is that this attitude does not remain at the individual level. On a social scale, ideological stubbornness hinders progress, perpetuates injustices, and normalizes harmful practices. When a false belief is maintained out of loyalty to a group or tradition, evidence ceases to be a tool for improvement and instead becomes a threat to be silenced. Changing one’s mind should not be interpreted as weakness, but as a sign of intellectual and ethical maturity. Revising beliefs in light of new data is one of the foundations of human knowledge and social progress. Refusing to do so, on the other hand, condemns us to repeat mistakes and to build narratives increasingly detached from reality. In a world saturated with information, true courage lies not in defending an ideology at all costs, but in daring to let it go when the facts show that it no longer holds.

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