Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques are useful to help calm you down if you are going through things such as;

- Anxiety or Anxiety Attacks

- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

- Dissociation

- Self-harm urges

- Traumatic memories

- Substance use urges

- Panic Attacks

There are 3 kinds or techniques physical, mental and soothing techniques to help ground you and calm you down during these difficult times. I will give a little bit of detail about each technique and how to effectively use each one.

Physical Techniques

Physical techniques engage the 5 senses and objects

-e.g. things you can touch-

To help move you past the distress.

5,4,3,2,1 Method

This method is becoming a more popular grounding technique as it is a quick and easy way to calm yourself. Going back from 5 you list things you can See, Touch, Hear, Smell and Taste. So list

5 things you can See (e.g. painting, book, mug),

4 things you can Touch (e.g. blanket, clothes, carpet),

3 things you can Hear (e.g. birds, television, wind),

2 things you can Smell (e.g. candle, perfume, flowers) and

1 thing you can Taste (e.g. gum, toothpaste, coffee).

I personally use this technique and I find it is the quickest way I can calm myself down during anxiety and panic attacks.

Put Your Hands In Water

Focus on the temperature of the water and how it feels on your hands. Try with hot, warm and cold water. Take note of how the water feels different with each temperature.

Move Your Body

Do a few stretches or just walk around. Pay attention to how your body moves and feels.

Mental Techniques

Mental techniques are a good way to distract your mind from the busy, worrying and stressful thoughts.

Use Maths or Numbers

Even if you aren’t into maths, using it as a way to distract you works great.

Try running through the times tables or counting back from 100. These will give your mind a break to think about something else.

Describe a Common Task

Describe a task that you do very well and very often. Such as making coffee, turning on your car, locking up the house, feeding a pet or turning on the shower. Go through the task step-by-step as if you are teaching someone else to do it.

I’ve found this one helps even more if you say each step out loud.

Describe What’s Around You

Take a few minutes to look around and describe what you see. Even if it’s a chair or an animal. Describe the colours, the smell, the noises and the textures. Use all 5 senses and give as much detail as possible.

This is very similar to the 5,4,3,2,1 Technique.

Soothing Techniques

Soothing techniques can help to comfort yourself in times of emotional distress. These exercises promote good feelings that help negative feelings fade.

Sit with your Pet

Spending just a few moments with your pet can ease your worries a lot. Just having their company and knowing how much they love you is so comforting.

List Positive Things

Write down a list of things that bring you joy and picture each one of them.

Practice Self-Kindness

Repeat kind and compassionate phrases and affirmations to yourself.

e.g.

- “you are strong”

- “you are loved”

-“you are enough”

-“you are trying hard, and you’re doing your best”

Say them out loud or in your head as many times as you like.

There are countless other Grounding techniques you can try and if you would like to see more go and follow the So Mental Instagram page where I am always posting new ways to help. @so_mental_

Danielle xoxo