Six techniques therapists use, ready when urges hit.

Each one is short, specific, and built for the moment. Use one, use them all — there’s no order, no progression, and no badge at the end. Four come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; two we borrowed honestly, and we say from whom.

1. 01Urge SurfAn urge isn’t a command, and it isn’t permanent. Urge surfing is the skill of riding one out — noticing it rise, crest and pass — without acting on it.Read the technique→
2. 02Drop AnchorA grounding technique from ACT, built for the moment the storm arrives. Three steps — Acknowledge, Come back, Engage — and you’re back in the room.Read the technique→
3. 03Choice PointEvery urge is a fork. One move carries you toward the person you want to be; one carries you away. The skill is seeing the fork while you’re standing in it.Read the technique→
4. 04Leaves on a StreamYou can’t stop the thought arriving. You can stop being carried off by it. A defusion practice for the thoughts that argue you into it.Read the technique→
5. 05Passengers on the BusThe urges, the cravings, the voice that says you’ll never change — they’re all on board. The metaphor that decides who has the wheel.Read the technique→
6. 06Self-Compassion BreakShame isn’t the cure for a slip — it’s the thing that predicts the next one. A three-step practice for meeting yourself decently enough to carry on.Read the technique→