Grounding
Grounding skills are tools that help you become more “here, now”, or more in touch with the present moment.
Sometimes, when we feel stress, overwhelm, worry, when our body is in the room but our mind is…somewhere else? It can be difficult to feel a sense of clarity, or like “I’m okay”. Grounding skills can be helpful to return to the present moment.
When we’re in the present moment, we can access more mental clarity about how we feel, what we need to do or what support we have.
Grounding skills are best when they’re simple and accessible, and include just noticing things with the five senses - what you see, hear, smell, taste, and physically feel.
Grounding Skills
Being here, now.
Practice: Right now, name something you see, hear, smell, taste, and physically feel. You might follow that up with taking a deep breath. Do you notice feeling more present?
With grounding skills, the more simple and accessible they are, the better. I like to make them up as I go along based on what environment I’m in. Name 3 things you see that are purple. Name 4 things around you that are shiny. Listen, and name 3 different sounds that you hear right now. Pick up any object around you with your hands, and name out loud anything you notice about the object with your 5 senses. Gently push your feet into the ground, and notice how you feel the connection & pressure between your feet and the ground.
Based on what environment you’re in, you can find different grounding practices that are accessible to you. Try a couple of them out, and notice if there’s a shift in how present you’re able to feel.
For more tools, if being in the present doesn’t feel comfortable yet, or if you’re struggling to feel grounded often, working with a trauma therapist can be extremely helpful.
