Grounding is an excellent way to put all your bad memories, experiences, and thoughts behind you. Any challenging emotions you might be faced with or even any frightening flashbacks you confront can be removed with the assistance of grounding techniques.
ARE THERE ANY GROUNDING TECHNIQUES?
Distracting yourself from anxious feelings is something we all must do from time to time. This is how we are able to focus more on the present moment and enjoy it. If you are interested in what these techniques can do for you, then continue reading this detailed blog post. Make no mistake; the benefits are plenty. The space you will be able to create will start shielding you from anxiety, depression, bad mood, PTSD, and stress and will improve your overall well-being.
SOME OF THE BEST PSYCHOLOGICAL GROUNDING TECHNIQUES
If you feel like you are in distress, many grounding techniques can provide you with relaxation and calmness. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- Place your hands under water – this is an excellent technique where you need to focus on your hands. Focus on the water they are in and notice how it feels on your fingertips, your skin, your palms, and even on the back of your hands. Start doing this with warm water, and then switch to cold. Then, try reverse – cold water first, warm second. Do you start to notice how it feels on your skin?
- Focus on items that surround you – this means you should start picking them up or at least touching them. Notice their texture, their weight, and their temperature. Focus on each item. Also, think in color. When you see an object and touch it, challenge yourself to think of a more specific color name instead of just naming it red, green, or blue. Instead, try navy, emerald, and crimson.
- Inhale and exhale –breathing is one of the most important grounding techniques that can lead you to relaxation. Deeply inhale, then exhale. If it will help your process, you can breathe in each time you take a breath, and breathe out each time you release the air. Make sure to feel each breath as it enters and exits your body.
- Foods are great – it doesn’t even have to be food, it can be a small sip of a beverage – anything that can make your body feel another sensation than the distress you are currently in. Take a small taste and savor it. Acknowledge all the notes and sub notes of the bite or sip and focus on that.
- Walk around – there is nothing more relaxing than the feeling of walking in nature. If you start feeling like you need a little bit of time out, then it is time to take a walk. Nature is always a nice place to gather your feelings and thoughts. Focus on each step you are making and even count the steps if you feel like you need to. Try maintaining a rhythm and focus on it too. If everything else fails, you can always focus on your feet. How does it feel when your feet touch the ground? Can you describe that feeling?
- Hold a piece of ice – even though this is pretty straightforward, it is an excellent technique that will lead you to relaxation. Take a piece of ice and hold it in your hands. Can you describe what it feels like? Do you notice it slowly melting in your palms? How does the sensation last on your palms once the ice has melted away?
- Listen to everything around you – take a deep breath and start grounding yourself by focusing on all the noises that surround you. Whether it is the ticking of a clock, cars going up and down a road, the sound of the TV, the air conditioner, maybe birds, dogs, cats, people chatting, or telephones ringing. Let yourself be absorbed by the sound around you, and acknowledge where you are.
- Try the 12345 method – this is one of the best grounding techniques there are. You start by working your way up from five to one, but the main goal is to notice things around you. Start with five things you can hear. Continue with four things you can see. Then, three things you can touch. Two things you can smell. And finally, one thing you can taste. In this exercise, it is important to recognize everything around you. It is the only way to complete the exercise completely and without any obstacles.
- Feel the body – the body is an amazing thing, but sometimes we need to be reminded of it. You should be able to do this either sitting or standing. You need to focus on your entire body, starting from head to toe, or the other way around. Start noticing your hair that falls on your shoulders or your forehead, around the face. Also, start noticing the shirt that you are wearing, and its weight. Do you feel it on your shoulders and body? Notice your arms and hands. How does your heartbeat sound? Is it slow or is it fast? Think about your stomach and how that makes you feel. Are you full or are you hungry? Finally, think about your feet too. Are they firm on the ground? Have you crossed your legs? Focusing on everything, your fingers and toes included will give you some grounding space and can help you get back to normal.
If you are unsure of when to use the grounding techniques, just remember that this is something you should have handy in those cases of severe distress. Give yourself the time every day to check in on yourself and see how you are doing. If you feel like you need to practice to achieve a complete state of relaxation, then so be it!
Consider these the most powerful tools in your fight against distressing thoughts. If you are having trouble with using any of these tools, it is more than okay to contact a professional who would be able to help you with that. The most important thing to remember is that you can ground yourself whenever you start feeling uncomfortable.
