The 4 Steps of RAFT

Breaking Down the RAFT Method

Below, we're going to break down in detail each of the four steps that make up the RAFT method.

Understanding the purpose and application of each letter in the acronym is essential to being able to use this tool successfully.

This method will become the core of your recovery if you practice it consistently and with discipline.

Step 1. Recognize - The Initial Separation

The first step, "Recognize," involves realizing that your thoughts are simply that—thoughts—and not irrefutable facts.

You need to learn to observe these thoughts appearing in your mind as if you were an outside spectator.

The goal of this step is to create a clear separation between you, the observer, and the thought you are observing.

You must remember at all times that thoughts are only passing mental events and do not represent the truth absolute.

This distinction is essential to begin to take away the power they currently exert over your emotional state.

Step 2. Accept - The End of Resistance

The second step, "Accept," involves admitting and acknowledging the presence of these thoughts in your mind without resistance.

Accepting does not mean that you give up or resign yourself to the misery the thought may bring you.

Nor does it imply that you agree with the content of the thought or that you have to endure it forever.

It is simply an act of letting go, recognizing that the thought is there at that very moment.

By letting go of the fight against the thought, you take away the energy it needs to continue tormenting you.

Step 3. Float - Conscious Uncoupling

The third step, "Float," teaches you how to rise and stay above the mental noise they generate your thoughts.

The idea is to completely detach yourself from the content of the thought and its apparent meaning.

As you float above, you allow the feelings associated with that thought to simply exist, without reacting to them.

You don't try to change the emotions or analyze them, you just let them be while remaining in an observer position.

It's like watching clouds pass by in the sky; You observe them, but you don't get tangled up in them or try to move them.

Step 4. Time - The Patient Witness

The last step, "Time," is based on patience and allowing time to simply pass without any rush.

You shouldn't have an urgency to feel better immediately, but rather trust the natural process to occur.

During this time, you become a witness to your own anxiety and distress from a curious point of view.

This perspective should also be disinterested, as if you were observing a weather phenomenon without becoming emotionally involved in it.

This attitude of detached curiosity is what prevents you from being swept away again by the emotional storm.

Practice as a Path to Mastery

Mastery of the RAFT method is not achieved overnight, but through very consistent practice.

You must make it a daily habit, applying it every time an obsessive thought tries to capture your attention.

Sometimes you'll have to use it minute by minute, but this effort is what will build the new neural pathways for calm.

Summary

The RAFT method, the core of your recovery, requires disciplined practice. The first step, Acknowledge, is seeing your thoughts as simple mental events and not facts.

Next, Accept the presence of the thought without fighting it, removing its energy. Then, Float above the mental noise, completely disengaging from the content of the thought.

The final step, Time, involves observing your anxiety with patience and detached curiosity. Mastery of this method comes with consistent, daily practice.