Sailor Moon and Unconditional Positive Regard

Photo retrieved from: http://www.themarysue.com/sailor-moon-crystal-season-2/.

You may not know this about me, but I am a huge Sailor Moon fan. I have been in love with the show since I was in the 7th grade; that’s 15 years. That’s more than half of my life. One of the qualities that I fell in love with on the show and in the characters is a quality that I find is important for mental health and promoting mental health: unconditional positive regard.

What is Unconditional Positive Regard?
Unconditional positive regard is an attitude, associated with Carl Rogers, in which a person is accepted regardless of their good or bad doings. It is not to say that hurtful or dangerous behaviors are accepted; you do not have to condone or put up with someone’s behavior. It is accepting the individual despite their poor (or good) choices. It is the mindset that a person is trying their best. This is such an important attitude that it is incorporated into most therapies to create a safe environment for the therapist-client relationship.

Sailor Moon and Unconditional Positive Regard
So how does this relate to Sailor Moon? Well, the main character, Sailor Moon, has this tendency of accepting people, regardless of their flaws. Of course, she is not perfect. She can be judgmental at times, but for the most part, one of her strength is her ability to love and accept people. She has the ability to see past hurtful actions done by the monster of the day, usually an acquaintance she just met, and despite the damage they caused there is a person who deserves respect. She stops the monster of the day or heals them to prevent further damage; she does not accept their actions, but them as a person. This is one of the reasons why she is driven to help and one of the reasons why I have always related to this show.

Applying Unconditional Positive Regard
I am an adult and I recognize that this is only an anime, a Japanese cartoon, however, there are some things that I want to continue practicing in my life as I continue watching the series. As a therapist-in-training, a hotline crisis person, a group facilitator, a friend, a partner, a daughter, a sibling, a person… I want to continue accepting people for who they are because who am I to judge? Everyone is trying their best and that should be respected.

Is this something that you want to apply in your life?

References:
1. Joseph, S. (2012). Unconditional positive regard: If you think it’s about smiling and nodding you are doing it wrong. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-doesnt-kill-us/201210/unconditional-positive-regard
2. Likerman, A. (2012). Unconditional positive regard: The benefits of seeing the best in others. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201210/unconditional-positive-regard