When the Rains Come: Managing Emotional Flooding

How do you cross the stream when the bridge is washed out?

It rained recently—really rained—deluge style.

One and a half inches of rain in 24 hours means flooding around here. And lots of it.

As Jack and I walked our usual trail, we noticed streams appearing where there had never been streams before. Others had overflowed their banks.

There are a couple of places along the trail where makeshift bridges—logs from downed trees—help us cross the water.

But on this day, the streams had doubled in size. The bridges looked like they were floating.

Jack reached the first bridge and placed a tentative paw on a log. That tiny bit of force was enough to knock the whole thing loose. The logs floated off.

They didn’t go far, but it was clear: this spot was no longer safe to cross. And the stream was too wide to jump.

What to do?

We could have turned back.

But instead, we started looking. Maybe there was another way.

We followed the water downstream, hoping to find a narrower place. We didn’t.

But we did find a tree that had fallen clean across the stream.

It was wide and sturdy enough to walk on, so I climbed up and crossed over.

Jack is afraid of water. He’ll drink it, wade through puddles, even leap across small streams—but he won’t swim.

So I encouraged him to try the log.

He tried. He really did.

He put his paws up, whimpered, and wanted to come. But he couldn’t do it. It didn’t feel safe.

He wasn’t ready. He needed to find another way.

He ran back upstream while I made my way through the woods, hoping he’d figure something out.

And when I reached the main path, there he was—tail wagging, proud of himself for finding his own way across.

I gave him lots of love. And as I did, I started thinking about flooding of a different kind—Emotional flooding.

When we’re emotionally flooded, our nervous system is in overdrive.

It often happens during high-stress moments or conflict.

Adrenaline and cortisol surge through the body, raising heart rate and blood pressure, dilating pupils, quickening the breath, tightening the muscles.

It’s not just physical.

Flooding can also create brain fog, racing thoughts, a desire to run away, or an upset stomach.

Empathic and Highly Sensitive People are especially prone to this kind of overwhelm.

Because we take in more—more emotion, more energy, more nuance—we also get flooded more easily.

So when life throws more at us than we can handle…

When we feel anxious, scared, angry, or lost in grief…

When we’re outside our Window of Capacity…

How do we get to the other side?

What if our usual go-to techniques—like deep breathing or grounding—don’t work?

What if we can’t even access them?

We still have choices.

We can turn away. But that often leaves us stranded on one side—in shutdown.

Trying to ignore the flood doesn’t make it disappear.

We can follow someone else’s lead. But crossing their bridge doesn’t always mean it’s safe for us.

Sometimes it leads to more anxiety—or worse, to shame when it doesn’t work.

Or…

We can turn to our own bodies.

Our emotions live in our tissues.

Noticing the physical signs—tight chest, clenched jaw, jittery hands—helps us catch the flood before it rises too high.

The earlier we notice, the easier it is to regulate.

Learn to Complete the Stress Cycle

Emotional flooding is a physiological cycle. If it doesn’t get completed, stress stays stuck in the body.

You can help it move by releasing tension—especially in the arms and legs.

Shake. Stretch. Dance. Walk.

Address the Root Causes

Self-help tools are powerful, but they aren’t enough if we’re constantly exposed to the same stressors.

If we don’t tend the deeper wounds, the floodwaters will keep rising.

When we give ourselves time and space…

When we turn down the volume of the inner critic…

When we find boundaries even in chaos…

We begin to find our way forward.

Not someone else’s way. Ours.

And the next time the emotional rains come—and they will—we’ll know we don’t have to panic… or shut down.

We can pause. We can feel. We can listen to our bodies.

And we can find another way across.