Grounding is a great tool to help you get out of your head and bring you back to the present moment. Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, stress, a difficult moment or just want a break from what you’re doing, grounding can help.
Physical grounding techniques may include:
- Put your hands in water. Focus on the temperature and how it feels
- Touch items around you. Pick up something close by (a pen, a book, grass). Notice how it feels, is it light or heavy, what is the texture?
- If able, move your body. This can be stretching high into the air, going for a walk, or dancing!
- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 think you can taste
- Counting: start counting things that you see, or use mental math to play with numbers in your head
- Anchor: State some facts. Your name, where you are, the weather, the time
- Externalise the feeling and imagine it as a hat that you’re wearing. You are still you, and this feeling is upon you
- Self-kindness and self-compassion: be kind to yourself. Imagine that your feelings are a friend and what you would say to them if they were going through a hard time
- Listen to music, bird song or anything else you enjoy. Listen deeply, allowing yourself to imagine where the sounds are coming from
Breath work
- Breathe deeply. You can take deep breaths and let them go out slowly, like letting air out of a balloon
- Box breathing: inhale, hold, exhale, and hold for a count of four seconds each
- 4,7,8: Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds and exhale for 8 seconds
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