Recently found about dialectical thinking (embracing opposites) and it’s making a big impact on how I feel, think and relate to myself

The basic idea is that everything is composed of opposites, meaning that in order to understand things more fully, we need to also accept, consider and understand their opposites.

With dialectical thinking, two opposing thoughts, feelings or ideas are true at the same time. For example, it’s possible to both love and deeply resent your partner simultaneously, to both want to quit and continue with a problematic habit.

The usual reaction to such conflicts is to just label one as good and the other as bad, and then to resist or deny the "bad". Which, I’m sure you can relate, doesn't quite work, though, and can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety.

I actually had a breakthrough recently, realising that “you can’t fight yourself and win”. This really stuck with me and it’s allowed me to begin to embrace the part of myself that I’d been trying to disown, deny or ignore, and to allow opposites to co-exist within me, instead of judging myself for being the ball of contradictions I am.