ACT2 minutes
Dropping Anchor
When you're flooded
For when the feeling has already swept you up and you still need to function.
- Press your feet into the floor. Notice the contact. If you can, push down a little.
- Feel the chair, the clothes on your skin, the temperature of the air.
- Look around and silently name five things you can see. Turn your head. Let your eyes actually land.
- Then come back to the thing in front of you — the email, the conversation, the next small action — while the feeling is still here.
- You are not waiting to feel better first. You are getting your body in the room so you can choose the next move.
Why it works: Flooding makes it feel like you have to win the feeling before you can act. Dropping anchor does the opposite: it brings you into the present so you can act with the feeling still present. From Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.