When you feel overwhelmed, it can be helpful to step back from the world and sink into stillness for a moment by focusing on the here and now.
Grounding is a therapeutic practice of emotional regulation that brings down the level of anxiety or overwhelm in the body (also works for overthinking and worrying). There are myriad ways of doing this but most involve taking a deep breath and attuning to one’s senses. It can be as simple as putting your hands in the dirt, or changing your focus.
Try taking a cleansing breath and notice:
🪨 5 things you can see – these can be objects in your immediate field of vision or you may choose to look around for something specific like circles, red things or animal / vegetable / minerals.
🪨 4 things you can feel – can you feel the texture of your pants? the texture of the ground beneath your feet? the temperature on your skin? is there a rock nearby that you want to pick up?
🪨 3 things you can hear – if your environment feels intense try listening to sounds farther away, or the white noise that we often ignore. Can you hear yourself breathing slowly?
🪨 2 things you can smell – this can be an opportunity to notice the subtle smells around you, or if you have something nearby that has a scent you can smell it intentionally.
🪨 1 things you can taste – do you have a mint or a warm beverage with you? maybe you want to try tasting a piece of grass.
Do you feel any calmer and more grounded?
