Grounding Skills
Grounding Skills
Grounding is a technique that helps keep someone in the present moment. They help reorient a person to the here-and-now and relax the nervous system. Grounding skills can be very helpful in managing overwhelming feelings and anxiety.
The following are some grounding skills I suggest you try. Try them all when you are not feeling overwhelmed so that you can have an idea of what they are like, what to expect, and which ones you like best. Rate your stress from 0-10 before and after you have tried them to see which are more effective for you. Sometimes, we need the help of a therapist to guide us through these exercises and that is okay, too. I’d be happy to help.
54321 “game” Grounding Exercise #1:
Take a breath and name:
• 5 things you can see in the room with you.
• 4 things you can feel (“chair on my back” or “feet on floor”)
• 3 things you can hear right now (e.g. “the wind”, “music” or “tv”)
• 2 things you can smell right now (or, 2 things you like the smell of)
• 1 good thing about yourself
Grounding Exercise #2:
Begin by tracing your hand on a piece of paper and label each finger as one of the five senses. Then take each finger and identify something special and safe representing each of those five senses. For example: Thumb represents sight and a label for sight might be butterflies or my middle finger represents the smell sense and it could be represented by lilacs. After writing and drawing all this on paper, post it on your refrigerator or other safe places in the home where it could be easily seen and memorize it. Whenever you get triggered, breathe deeply and slowly, and put your hand in front of your face where you can really see it – stare at your hand and then look at each finger and try to do the five senses exercise from memory.
Other Quick Grounding Exercises:
• Keep your eyes open, look around the room, notice your surroundings, notice details in the environment (shapes, colors, textures).
• Hold a pillow, stuffed animal or a ball. Notice the item’s details in terms of softness, texture, smell, temperature, and color.
• Place a cool cloth on your face, or hold something cool ,such as a can of soda or ice.
• Listen to soothing music and focus on the sound and lyrics.
• Put your feet firmly on the ground. Feel your muscles supporting your entire body and connect to the earth below you.
• FOCUS on a soothing image or painting. Notice all the colors and details of it.
I hope you found some of these to be helpful. The key is to find which techniques you like and practice them often, even when not upset, so that they become more powerful. If you would like to learn more about self help tools, you can find some book recommendations for self care here.