Grounding Techniques: 10 You Can Try Now
When you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, flashbacks, or other overwhelming states, grounding techniques can help bring some relief.
How do they work?
Grounding techniques work by turning your focus away from difficult feeling states. By anchoring yourself to the current moment, you can often prevent a sense of overwhelm from building.
Grounding techniques are particularly helpful for the following conditions:
Stress
Dissociation
10 Ways to Ground Yourself
1. Hold a piece of ice in your hand *
Notice how cold the ice feels in your hand.
2. Use the dive reflex *
Put ice cold water in a large bowl. While safely holding your breath for 15-30 seconds, submerge your face (eyebrows down to chin) in the water. Repeat as needed. As an alternative technique, you can run an ice cold shower and hold your face under the running water for 15-30 seconds.
3. Get your body moving *
Do some jumping jacks or run in place for a minute or so.
4. Try the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Method
In your current environment, list 5 things you hear, then 4 things you see, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
5. Use mathematics
Starting from 100, count backwards by 7
6. State an anchoring phrase
Anchor yourself to the current moment by stating something like this: “I am Katie, and I am 26 years old. I am currently in Walnut Creek, CA on Memory Lane, sitting on a wood bench. It’s April 6, 2022 at 3:32pm.”
7. Mentally run through a single task, step by step
List each step that a familiar task or project requires—as if you were explaining it to a novice. What supplies would you first need to get? What order do you complete each step?
8. Describe your current environment
Look around your immediate environment and list off all the things you see. “I see a yellow VW Bug that’s parked next to a red stop sign. I see a black crow chewing on a faded brown wood fence; a calico cat that is flicking its tail while sunbathing.”
9. Spend time with your pet
Notice how you feel when near them. How does their fur feel against your hand? How do they smell? What kind of markings do they have?
10. List movies that start with a specific letter in the alphabet
If you select L: Lady and the Tramp, Love Actually, Lilo and Stitch, Legally Blonde, Lost in Translation…
