Grounding Techniques to Help Manage Anxiety

Introduction

When you're feeling anxious, it can be difficult to focus on anything else. If your mind is racing and your heart feels like it's going to beat out of your chest, grounding techniques can help bring you back to the present moment and give you a sense of control over how you react to stressful situations. Grounding techniques bring you back to the present moment and helps you feel calm. Grounding techniques can also help relieve stress during times when you aren't feeling anxious—like when you're stuck in traffic or waiting in line at the grocery store! Here are my top favorite grounding techniques to help manage anxiety.

3 Senses Grounding Technique

The three senses grounding technique is similar to the five senses grounding technique. The three senses grounding technique involves:

·      Sight- Naming three things you can see in your environment and describing what it looks like.

·      Sound- Naming three things you can hear in your environment and describe what it sounds like.

·      Touch- Naming three things you can touch in your environment and describe what it feels like.

You would repeat this technique for several rounds until you notice your anxiety fading.

Sensation Pouch

When you’re anxious it is important to incorporate your senses into the present moment. This is because when anxious you are likely worried about a possible negative future. When anxious you are not in the present moment. Follow the following instructions to make your very own sensation pouch to bring your five senses into the present.

·      Locate a bag that you can take with you at all times. This bag should be relatively small in nature.

·      Think of your five senses. Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell, Hear

·      Gather a food item that you can bring with you. Some good examples are warheads, mints, sour candy, or gum.

·      Gather a small object you can touch. This object should be something that makes you feel calm such as a feather or small squishy toy.

·      Gather a picture or object that makes you feel calm when looking at it. This can be a picture of someone or something that allows you to feel safe such as a picture of a pet, a parent, or a best friend.

·      Gather a tiny object you can smell such as essential oils, coffee beans, or a small perfume bottle.

·      Record the sound of something that makes you feel calm such as the sound of a voice of a person that makes you feel calm, ocean waves, or create a calming playlist.

·      Put everything besides the recording in your sensation kit.

·      You can now carry this with you wherever you go. You can pull it out when feeling anxious, not present, or when dissociating.

·      This kit allows you to integrate all of your senses to the present moment.

5 Senses Grounding Technique

• Name 5 things you can see around you.

• Name 4 things you can touch around you.

• Name 3 things you can hear.

• Name 2 things you can smell.

• Name o1 thing you can taste.

The difference between the five senses grounding technique and the three senses grounding technique is that the five senses involves only naming things in your surroundings and the three senses involves naming and describing the three things in your surroundings to incorporate three of your senses in the present moment.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is a simple and effective way to relax your body. It's a great way to calm down and reduce anxiety, as well as get you into the habit of taking care of yourself. And it's surprisingly easy!

You may have heard about progressive muscle relaxation before--it's been around for over 100 years, after all--but you might not know exactly how it works or how much benefit it can give you.

·       Scan your body from head to toe.

·       Tense certain muscle groups for several seconds.

·       Release.

·       Move on to another muscle group.

·       Repeat.

Color Shades

The color wheel is a tool that can be used to help you identify a particular shade of color. It's also useful for creating a focal point, which can help you relax and calm down. To do this technique:

• Identify the main color in your room or space using the color wheel as a reference point. This should be something visible from where you're sitting or lying down (if applicable). For example, if there's red wallpaper on one wall and blue floor tiles, choose one of those two as your starting point for relaxation purposes.

• Describe this main hue in detail--what does it look like? How does it feel? What memories does this hue evoke in you? Take time to really hone in on everything about this particular shade.

Describing a Common Task

One of the most effective grounding techniques is to describe a common task in detail. This can be done by describing what you see, hear and smell around you, but it's also helpful to focus on your own body and the sensations that are happening there. For example:

• "I'm sitting at my desk in my office at work."

• "There's a pen lying on top of my laptop."

• "It's made from plastic with black ink inside it."

This kind of mental activity will help keep your mind off anxiety-inducing thoughts and bring you back into the present moment where there are fewer triggers for anxiety attacks or panic attacks.

Safe/Calm Place

This is a technique that can be used in conjunction with many other grounding techniques. It involves creating a safe place in your mind, which will help you feel calmer and more secure when you are experiencing anxiety.

The first step is to think of the place where you feel most calm and relaxed, whether it's an actual location or just something imaginary. Then, describe this place in detail: what does it look like? What sounds do you hear there? How do the smells make you feel? The more detail and sensory information that goes into this description will make it easier for your mind to conjure up when needed later on--so make sure not only that you're able to visualize every aspect of your safe/calm spot (what color are walls? Is there furniture?), but also how those elements affect other senses like hearing or touch (for example, does music play softly in the background).

There are many ways to ground yourself when you're feeling anxious or stressed out, but it's worth trying a few to see what works best for you.

When you're feeling anxious, it can be hard to think clearly and stay grounded. There are many ways to ground yourself when you're feeling anxious or stressed out, but it's worth trying a few to see what works best for you.

• Take a few deep breaths. Breathing slowly and deeply can help in the moment by slowing down your heart rate and allowing oxygen into the bloodstream. This can help calm down a racing mind or body that may be causing anxiety symptoms like sweating or shaking hands (or both).

• Put one hand on something solid like a table or chair back so that there is some contact between yourself and an object in the room around which you have control over; this helps remind us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves--nature itself!

Conclusion

I hope these techniques have helped you to better understand what it means to ground yourself and how it can help with your anxiety. Grounding is an important part of coping with stress and anxiety, so try using one or more of these methods to help keep yourself calm when things get overwhelming! To learn more about grounding techniques for anxiety or, to schedule a free consultation to see if anxiety therapy is right for you, schedule your FREE 15-minute consultation by, clicking the button below.