Grounding Techniques for Stress & Anxiety
Grounding is the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment through different strategies. These exercises can be helpful when you experience distressing or negative feelings. Grounding exercises can also help to interrupt a flashback or bad memory. By shifting your focus to the present moment, you can control your mind and direct your emotions into the safety of the physical space around you.
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Grounding is helpful for everyone and can be especially useful for:
- stress reduction
- anxiety
- depression
- dissociation
- post-traumatic stress
- the urge to self-harm
- managing alcohol and substance urges
This article will introduce grounding exercises that are relatively accessible. The next time you experience stress, bad memories, or negative emotions, try out one of these grounding exercises.
Physical Grounding Exercises
- Hold and pet a soft object
- Play with clay or kinetic sand
- Hold an ice cube or a cup of hot tea
- Massage yourself
- Savour a meal or a snack/treat by eating it slowly
- Pause to practice 54321 (click this link to go to the practice)
- Have a luxurious bath
- Sit and just listen to your environment
- Gently stretch your body or roll-out your muscles with a foam roller
- Take 10 slow relaxing breaths
- Practice box breathing
- 5 finger breathing
- Hum or whistle to stimulate the vagus nerve and calm your nervous system
Spiritual Grounding Exercises
- Read an uplifting news story like Good News Network or Happy News
- Play with an animal/pet or a child/family member
- Practice the three minute breathing space
- Try a meditation
- Listen to a guided visualization
- Do a walking meditation where you count your steps or listen to a guided meditation as you walk
Mental Grounding Exercises
- Do a colouring or painting activity
- Complete a word search
- Craft a gift
- Doodle a design
- Draw something from memory
- Imagine all the steps to a common task/chore in detail
- Repeat a phrase or affirmation
- Count backwards from 100 by an odd number like 9, 7, or 3
- Count the things you see around you like the amount of circles, squares, green objects, etc.
Emotional Grounding Exercises
- Read uplifting quotes
- Read a poem about nature
- Re-read or listen to your favourite story
- Practice grounding in the earth with shoes off your feet
- Forest bathe (the practice of mindfully standing, walking, or sitting in a forest)
- Embrace a loved one with a hug
- Give yourself a hug
- Talk to yourself in third person and give yourself a pep talk, advice, an affirmation, or a compliment
- Put on a positive mood playlist (don’t have one? find one!)
- Watch some funny videos or a stand up comedy
You don’t need to be concerned about which category to choose from. Theses are just a helpful way to categorize your holistic options. The point is to help you think about all the ways that you can relax. Using your senses, using your mind as a distraction, connecting with things outside yourself and connecting with your inner self can all help you to feel grounded in the moment.
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