So, you’ve been told to try grounding exercises… maybe you have heard this from your counsellor, a friend, a blog, or social media. Are you wondering what this means, how it’ll help, and how to do it?
First of all, what is grounding?
Grounding brings you back to the present moment, it anchors you by shifting the focus away from memories, thoughts, flashbacks, and worries and onto our immediate reality. It literally grounds you in the here and now. Grounding is incredibly useful for lessening intense feelings of anxiety, panic, and overwhelm. Periods of spiralling, ruminating, catastrophizing, heart racing, and fast breathing can be all-consuming and debilitating. While grounding is not a cure or a magic tool, meaning that it does not eliminate anxiety forever but it does make it more manageable in the moment. Imagine reducing any of these symptoms from a level 8 or 9 out of 10 to a 2 or 3. At that level, we can think more clearly, engage with our surroundings, and focus on the things that are most important to us.
So now we know what grounding is, but how do we do it?
There are many different grounding strategies, and some might work great for one person and not at all for another. Finding the most helpful grounding strategy for you might take trying a couple different strategies a few times, and just because one does not work, does not mean that they all won’t work.
Mental grounding strategies can be helpful if your mind is racing, fixating, or ruminating on something. Below are a few mental grounding strategies to consider:
- Play a categories game – pick a category, such as movies, colours, countries, animals, cereals, and try to think of as many as possible
- Count backwards from 100 by 7
- Think of an object, such as a cat, dog, book, plant, and draw it in your mind
- Say a safety statement – “I am safe right now, I am in the present moment, the date is _____”
- 5,4,3,2,1 – identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
Physical grounding strategies might be helpful if you prefer to get out of your head and focus on your body. Below are a few to choose from:
- Pet an animal
- Run warm or cool water over your hands
- Place both feet on the floor, notice the temperature of the floor on your feet, where you feel the floor the most, wiggle your toes, focusing on the sensations
- Focus on your breath – notice the inhale and exhale, breath in for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4
- Touch various objects in your environment – a blanket, book, table etc.
Practicing these strategies will make them easier and more natural, it might even help to start practicing them in calmer moments. If grounding does not seem to be working, check in on whether mental or physical grounding is more helpful, and think about creating your own – one that is tailored exactly to you. If you feel stuck, reaching out to a counsellor for guidance can help!
Kaitlin Chapple, MA, RCC
Walmsley EFAP