Name It to Tame It.

We’re never really taught how to navigate the big emotions - the ones that overtake us like a brutal and mighty storm. We distract ourselves from them (which can be useful at times), we deny them, battle them, and we push them down and hope they don’t rear their ugly heads again ( which they inevitably do).

This strategy from ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) prompts a four-part process:

⚠️NOTICE what feelings, thoughts and sensations are arising in your body.

🎙ACKNOWLEDGE what this might represent, e.g. “Ok, I’m noticing I’m feeling anxiety right now.”

🌊MAKE SPACE for this experience. Breathe space into it and around it within your body. Treat it curiously and compassionately. With what speed does it move within you? What temperature is it? What texture? How can you allow this feeling to exist alongside other parts of you in this moment?

🌞EXPAND AWARENESS to the world around you, recognize that this feeling is only one feature of what can exist within consciousness. Notice the colours of things around you (perhaps seek out everything that’s “red” or “blue”. Notice sounds that you can hear, or smells in the air. Allow your senses to engage and receive external stimuli.

If this sounds interesting to you, you can jump onto @insighttimer where I have a guided version of this process. Come at it with curiosity, not with the goal of “eliminating” your feelings (however challenging).

Remember, no feeling is final. Even the ones that feel menacingly permanent. ⚡️