Dropping Anchor
Adapted from the work of Dr Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap.
A
ACKNOWLEDGE your thoughts and feelings
Adopt the stance of a scientist, curiously observing what’s going on in your inner world.
Silently and kindly acknowledge whatever is ‘showing up’ inside you:
- Thoughts
- Feelings
- Emotions
- Memories
- Sensation
- Urges
C
COME BACK into your body
You aren’t trying to turn away from, avoid, escape, or distract yourself from what is happening in your inner world/
Come back into and connect with your physical body.
You could try some or all of these:
- Slowly push your feet hard into the floor
- Slowly straighten up your back and spine; if sitting, sitting upright and forward in your chair
- Slowly press your fingertips together
- Slowly stretch your arms or neck, shrug your shoulders
- Slowly breathe
E
ENGAGE in what you are doing
Try all or some of these suggestions, or try your own. End the exercise by giving your full attention to the next task or activity at hand.
Get a sense of where you are and refocus your attention on the activity you are doing.
In your surroundings, notice:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can hear
- 3 things you are touching
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 taste in your mouth
- Finally: notice what your are doing
Ideally, run through the A>C>E cycle slowly 3 or 4 times, to turn it into a 2-3 minute exercise:
You can practice these kinds of exercises, any time, any place. It’s a good idea to practice them often in less challenging situations, when your thoughts and feelings are less difficult, so you can build up your skill levels. Over time, the idea is to use this in more challenging situations, when your thoughts and feelings are trickier and can more easily overwhelm you.
