Acceptance in that context means an active process of being open to feeling what you feel, deeply engaging with it, and learning from it. Acceptance looked at that way is not some kind of passive resignation or tolerance—as if discrimination is somehow OK and we should accept it—nor is it perseverating on how awful it is and how bad it feels. It means my feelings are valid; they are worth my attention.
Whether it is putting off doing the laundry, paying your bills, or getting your shopping done, we all procrastinate. As students, the urge to procrastinate is even stronger when you're surrounded by opportunities to have fun. But procrastination has been found to lead to poorer academic performance, higher levels of stress and anxiety, and academic burnout. Lee, Othman, & Ramlee (2025) were interested in determining if there were other treatment modalities besides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that might help avoid procrastination.
In his new book, Notes on Being a Man, Galloway states bluntly: "There's no such thing as 'toxic masculinity...there's cruelty, criminality, bullying, predation, and abuse of power. If you're guilty of any of these things, or conflate being a man with coarseness and savagery, you're not masculine; you're anti-masculine." As a man and a therapist who treats mostly men, this resonates with me and what I've heard from my clients.
Humor is used by bullies and perpetrators to increase the pain of betrayal by reinforcing stereotypes and existing power structures. And yet! Humor is a powerful tool of recovery, allowing us to challenge the narrative of the hegemony, compassionately connect to others, and take a new perspective on our pain. Humor plays a significant role in recovery from trauma, betrayal and loss.
