What is grounding in therapy? 3 techniques to reduce anxiety and distress

What is grounding? 

Grounding is a part of mindfulness in which you are directing your thoughts away from distressing thoughts/experiences and guiding it toward the present. This can be particularly helpful when feeling overwhelmed by certain thoughts or emotions. Grounding techniques are designed to help individuals dealing with trauma, panic attacks, or other intense emotional experiences.

5 things exercise

This is a grounding technique that redirects anxious thoughts by focusing your attention on your five senses. It’s designed to help you shift your focus from anxious thoughts to the present moment, promoting a sense of calm and grounding.

Identify 5 things you can see 

Identify 4 things you can touch

Identify 3 things you can hear

Identify 2 things you can smell

Identify 1 thing you can taste 

Body Scan: 

Attunement to your body is an important part of this exercise. Imagine your body is being scanned. Pay attention to each part of your body, starting with your head, across to your shoulders, down through your chest, to your knees, to your toes, etc. Take note of how each of these parts feel. Are they carrying tension? Direct your attention to each individual part of your body, from your elbows, to your shins, to your fingers. Allow yourself to move through the scan, taking deep breaths as you go along. This is helpful, both to allow you to visualize dissolving tension where you are holding stress, but also to allow yourself to slow down and have mindfulness of how your body might be responding to your headspace. 

Color Visualization

Sit with your feet on the ground. Feel the ground under your feet and take a deep breath in and a deep breath out. Take note of where you might be feeling tension or tightness in your body. After you pinpoint where you are holding anxiety, assign a color to it. It might feel dark and thick or you might imagine it as a green color that is wrapping itself around you. Whatever color you assign it, imagine how it moves around you. Does it feel suffocating, is it wispy and lingering? Once you’ve visualized the color and movement of the anxiety, imagine putting it in a container. Imagine closing the lid firmly and putting it on the shelf. Take one deep breath and exhale, allowing the freedom of putting away your container to wash over you. You can feel the freedom to return to it whenever you are ready.