(PSA) Grounding Techniques

[RoseyLittle]

“No feeling is final.”

– Rainer Maria Rilke (20^th-century German poet)

Grounding tools are coping strategies to help you gently stay connected to the present moment and separate you from the distress of your emotional state or situation. When we feel a sense of threat (whether real or perceived) it affects the autonomic nervous system by activating our threat response. Grounding allows us to calm our body and help switch off the fight, flight, freeze or flag response.

Grounding can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone. They can be done on our own, or with a supportive friend, loved one, therapist, or even AI, who can guide us through the grounding process when the need arises. There are also many helpful apps (PTSD Coach Canada is just one example) or videos online to help guide us through grounding techniques.

Grounding “anchors” us to the present moment and allows us to calm our nervous system enough to be able to make the next best decision for what we may need.  Many individuals who have experienced trauma struggle with a wobble of feeling too much (overwhelming emotions and memories) or too little (numbing and dissociation). With grounding, we can practice a balance between the two – being conscious of feelings and able to tolerate them. 

 

I thought it could be helpful to have a place where some grounding techniques are listed for everyone. Please feel free to post your own you use as well. Later, I will make another grounding post for littles/middles or anyone that wants some grounding techniques that are fun for kids! 

Some Key Guidelines:

- Grounding techniques are not the same thing as relaxation techniques – it is an active strategy that works via distraction and connection to the external world.

 - Even though grounding methods are simple, practicing them frequently allows them to be maximally helpful. Practice even when you don’t need them, so that you will know it by heart!

- In general, when grounding it can help to have both feet planted on the ground with an open comfortable body posture. But listen to your own bodies needs and abilities.

- Engage your senses – e.g. get tactile by holding something soft.

- Focus on the present, not the past or future.

- Stay neutral – avoid judgements of “good” and “bad”.

- Ground for a looooooooonnnnggggg time (10-20 minutes). Rinse and Repeat if needed.

- Start grounding early in the distress cycle. Begin as soon as you feel yourself beginning to be triggered.

- Figure out what types of grounding works best for you. You can even create your own methods of grounding.

- Make an index card on which you list your best grounding methods. Keep this on you or within easy reach – It is easier than trying to remember in the moment of distress.

- Consider teaching your people what it looks like when you experience triggers (especially dissociation) and teach them what grounding helps with you

- Prepare in advance – Locate places in your room, on your person, or elsewhere that you can have materials and reminders for grounding.

- Don’t give up!

 

Some Grounding Techniques: Here are just a few examples! There are so many out there to experiment with. Play with them, try them in combinations with each other. But keep in mind we always want to include breath. 

Breath is considered the foundation of grounding. It is one of the fastest ways we can begin to help our system come down from a stress response and begin to feel calm and connected. There are also 3 major categories of grounding: Physical, Mental and Soothing. Physical techniques help you focus and reconnect to your body; Mental techniques help focus your mind and senses to the present moment; and Soothing techniques help you treat yourself in a kind and compassionate manner. Feel free to experiment with different combinations of techniques and find what works best for you.

Breath:

 - Deep Belly Breath (Abdominal Breathing). Our breath is a direct reflection of our mental and emotional state. When we feel anxious, tense, angry, or overwhelmed our breathing can become shallow and rapid, occurring higher up in our chest. When we are relaxed we breathe deeply and slowly and our breathing comes from our abdomen. In this way, we can invoke a relaxed state by changing our breath. Place one hand on your chest and one hand over your belly button. As you inhale allow the breath to deepen and shift to your abdomen. Notice with this deeper breath how our belly pushes outwards against our hand and deflates with our exhale. Continue with this rhythm of deepening the inhale and slowing releasing the exhale.

- 4-Square Breath. Visualize a square in your mind. Allow the rhythm of your breath to follow the shape of the square by breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the air for 4 seconds, breathing out the exhale for 4 seconds and holding the empty space for 4 seconds. You can even trace the shape of the square with your finger in your mind. Repeat this breath as much as you need.

- Finger Breath. Place the index finger of one hand on the outside of the pinky finger on your other hand. As you breathe in, trace up to the tip of your pinky, and as you breath out trace down the inside of your pinky. Continue finger by finger until you have traced all the fingers on your hand. Reverse the direction and do the same process of breath from your thumb to your pinky.

- Ten Breaths. Take ten breaths, focus your attention on each breath on the way in and on the way out. Say the number of each breath to yourself as you exhale. Gradually, allow your breath to expand and fill every corner of your body.

- Rooted Visualization – Bring your attention to your breath. As you breathe in, visualize it as an energy (e.g. light or colour) that moves through your body. You might track it along your arms, down your torso, down your legs and finally all the way into your feet. As you continue to breathe normally, visualize the energy flowing all the way through your body, through your feet and into the ground below you, anchoring you and holding you solid and firm. Notice how it feels to be rooted to the earth, all of you connected. You can even visualize yourself as a tree rooted to the ground.

- Dual Experience.  Close your eyes, sit comfortable and begin to turn your awareness in with your breath. As you follow the rhythm of your breath begin to pull your awareness to different parts of your experience, invite yourself to notice how the breath feels coming in and out; notice things you can hear and the spaces of silence; notice where your body feels supported by the furniture and spaces your body touches the air; notice both the feelings of tension in your body and the spaces that feel loose; notice how you might be holding multiple emotions as once, perhaps anxiety and contentment as an example; just notice that we can experience multiple things at once, holding dual experiences and one does not need to win over the other. Breath in and out with this dual awareness.

Mental Grounding:

-  Present Orientation - Say a safety statement oriented in the present. “My name is _________. I am _________ years old. I am safe right now. I am in the present, not in the past. I am located in _________ and the date is _________.”      

- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Senses – Look around you and begin to observe:

5 things you see (you can choose a specific colour e.g. red)

4 things you can touch (you can pick a specific texture e.g. smooth)

3 things you hear

2 things you smell

1 things you taste

- Feelings Container Visualization – Imagine placing the distressing thought/feeling/body sensation into a container (e.g. a glass jar or a box). You can get as creative as you like. Visualize closing the container knowing you are always able to go back and reopen it when you feel secure.

- Detailed Description – Describe an everyday activity you know well, in great detail (e.g. a meal you like to cook: first I peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters etc.).

-Finding Oases - Oases are activities that give a break from the trauma. They are activities that demand concentration and attention. Watching TV and reading do not usually work well as it is easy to wander into one’s own thoughts. Procedures that have not become automatic work best. These might include: working with tools; following a recipe; playing chess or ‘brain training’ games, doing crosswords or puzzles; writing; playing an instrument etc.

-Hands – Take a minute and ask every part of you to look through your eyes, and just notice your hands. Pay attention to their size, shape and details (maybe they have calluses, wrinkles or wear a ring, maybe they are larger). Remind every part of you that your hands look like this now because you are an adult. Remind every part of you that because you are an adult, this means you are safe and you have the resources and skills to take care of yourself.

- Describe your environment in detail, using all of your senses – for example, “the walls are white, there are five blue chairs, there is a wooden bookshelf against the wall”. Describe objects, sounds, textures, colors, smells, shapes, numbers, and temperature. You can do this anywhere.

- Categories. Try to think of types of all the things in a specific category (e.g. dogs, musicians, chocolate bars, animals, cars, or cities).  You can make it more difficult by choosing a certain letter as well (e.g. animals that start with the letter S).

Physical Grounding:

- Focused Breath – focus on your breathing, noticing each inhale and exhale. Let your breath slow down naturally, relaxing your body. You may also want to use calming, grounding statements as you breathe, like:
- Inhaling, “I am breathing in calm.” or “ I am breathing in compassion”
- Exhaling, “I am exhaling anxiety,” or “I am exhaling shame,” or “I am safe.”                       

- Grounding Object – carry a small object in your pocket (e.g. a small rock or crystal, a ring, anything that works for you) that you can use whenever you feel triggered. You can rub the object in your hand as you ground.

- Stretch and Contract – Extend your fingers, arms, or legs as far as you can. Move your body to its comfortable limits. Try some isometrics! Tense and release your muscles moving from your top down. 

- Temperature - run cool or warm water over your hands or face. Have a cool shower. Hold a hot cup of tea. Physically allow yourself to feel the sensation of different temperatures that ground us into the moment.

- Clap Your Hands Together. Clap strongly and feel the slight sting as your hands meet. Now clap softly and feel for the movement of air between your hands. Put your full attention on this one simple act and see how many things you can notice about what your hands feel. Now rub your hands together vigorously until they generate some heat. Feel the heat in your palms and then bring your hands to rest over your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths.

- Creative Expression – art, dancing, drumming, gardening, singing, listening to positive music… any creative expression!

- Body Scan. Sitting comfortably, take a deep breath in through the nose, and out through the mouth. As you breath out, close your eyes if that feels safe to do. Notice how the body feels right now. Starting at the top of the head, gently scan down through the body. Remember, you are not trying to change anything, just noticing how the body feels as you scan down, all the way to your toes. You might notice areas of tension or looseness, warmth or cold, pain or comfort, you might even notice sensations, feelings or colours. We are not judging what we notice, just observing them with gentle curiosity as we breathe.

- Change the scenery. Sometimes just getting up and moving can help. Change your environment. Go for a walk or a drive, or get up and go to another room.

- Urge Surfing. This is a helpful tool for those struggling with urges or cravings. Sit comfortably in a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes so that you are better able to focus on the exercise. Center your attention on the part or parts of your body where you are feeling the effects of the craving or urge. Describe to yourself the sensations you are feeling. Be calm and objective as you move from sensation to sensation, starting with the most intense. You may notice certain thoughts or feelings connected to the sensations. Shift the attention to the rise and fall of your breathing. Breathe naturally. After a couple of minutes (don’t get hung up on the specifics of the timing), shift your attention back to the physical locations tied to the craving. Continue to shift your focus from your sensations to your breathing until the urge you are experiencing subsides. It may help to think of the craving as the wave and your breath as your surfboard. When you feel better able to manage the urge, end the exercise and return to your regular activities. Remember that you can return to the exercise at any time if the intensity of the urge ratchets back up.

Soothing Grounding:

- Compassionate Words - Say kind things to yourself as if you were talking to a friend or loved one (e.g. “You are a good person going through a hard time, you will get through this moment. This feeling will soon pass”). Feel the vibration in your throat and listen to the sound in the air around your face.

- Inspiring Words – keep inspiring words that help you feel better close by to read. They can be from a song, quote, poem, or prayer for example.

- Butterfly Hug. Try a butterfly hug by crossing your arms (as if giving yourself a hug) and alternately tapping your left and right upper arm. Breathe and gently tap for a minute or two.

- Safe Place – Visualize a place you find soothing and safe. It can be from a memory or something imagined (e.g. a forest, your favourite room, a boat on the ocean, an alient planet). Focus on everything about that place – the sounds, colours, shapes, objects, textures.  Feel free to add anything into your safe space that would make it more perfect for you. Take out anything you don’t like.

- Self-care. Sometimes just engaging in self-care can help. You can make yourself a nice meal, have a hot shower, go through your workout routine, or watch a favourite show.

- Spiritual Practices – prayer, meditation, healing circles, spiritual practices of all forms.

[Daddy Bear 77]

I do some of these if things get too difficult during work and practicing Tai Chi helps significantly too. 

[RoseyLittle]

On 10/16/2025 at 9:41 PM, Daddy Bear 77 said:

I do some of these if things get too difficult during work and practicing Tai Chi helps significantly too. 

That’s lovely. I’ve heard so many good things about Tai Chi for that. I know Yoga is wonderful for it as well. 

[Daddy Bear 77]

Yoga helps me on a daily basis just feel wonderful but for intensely uncomfortable moments Tai Chi helps me ground quickly and for a significant amount of time.