School of Fish
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A cognitive defusion and acceptance exercise including instructions (see attached, pdf format).
What it is (from the exercise instructions): "In some ways, our experience of anxiety is like our experience of a school of fish. Imagine a school of fish seen from a distance. What you see is a large, looming, perhaps frightening shape moving through the water. It looks more like a large fish, perhaps a shark, than a group of tiny fish... If we got closer we would see the frightening object for what it is: not an object at all, but several smaller objects occurring in about the same space at the same time. "
Comments
A spin-off of the school of fish metaphor?
This metaphor led me to think of the following metaphor...
We are like a school of fish, and at times we have fish on the outside of the school who are particularly sensitive (anxious? angry? sad?) when they encounter certain triggers. This fish reacts and, as schools do, the entire school of fish responds instinctively and in a flash follows the lead of the "sensitive" fish (I don't like that word, but it's the best I've got right now). The goal, then, is for us to gently invite the "sensitive" fish into the interior of the school, where other fish welcome it with kindness, and it can squrim around if it likes, but it is surrounded and gently held by the accepting kindness of the other fish. Meanwhile, the entire school of fish is moving towards its valued goal.....
I'm an ACT rookie, so I'm curious as to if I'm on target with this. What do you think?