Grounding techniques, tips and tricks: let’s make a list together !
They are also useful for stopping other intrusions of repressed memories into our mind.
Many grounding techniques can be used to train ourselves in mindfulness, that is, in the constant awareness of the here-and-now.
Your grounding level can be checked frequently, observing your breathing, your posture, being conscious of your surroundings, etc.
This can reinforce your capacity to instantly ground in case of need, help you detect early signs that you are getting out of touch with your present reality, and even prevent these intrusions to some degree.
Some basic criteria for effective grounding actions are:
Present-oriented: the objective is to bring your awareness solidly back to the present, centered in the here and now. This is crucial.
Antithetical to the traumatic event: they have to be opposite to the situation during the trauma (light vs. dark, noise vs silence, fragrances, etc.)
Intense: ideally, stimuli should be intense enough to overpower those of the traumatic memory.
Using as many senses as possible: this is a way to build intensity and “attack simultaneously from all fronts”.
Familiar things that make you feel safe: objects you know, music you like, a preferred place, things that remind you of protective people in your life, etc.
Things that make you feel alive, energetic and even powerful: kicking the floor, clapping your hands, jumping, shouting, dancing wildly, etc.
An important aspect of grounding actions is their delay in implementation:
● Immediate: these are things you can do at a moment’s notice. They don’t require getting an object or moving to another place,
● Requiring some time: for example, to touch ice you have to go to the kitchen and open the fridge.
● Learned calming techniques: There are some effective techniques for calming down, which require previous learning and practice, like:
○ Lateral eye movement: you can practice this one anytime, anywhere. Just focus on looking gently from side to side. Keep your head still and just move your eyes. This is actually something your brain does while you're sleeping!
○ Imaginary “safe place” created, through visualization, in your mind, where you can always find refuge.
○ “Safety & Support Club”: similarly, an imaginary meeting of people that love you and surround you for safety and support.
○ Feelings Dial: training to reduce the intensity of your feelings by turning down an imaginary giant dial.
○ Freezing: imagine that your intrusive thoughts get frozen as ice cubes, becoming contained and innocuous.
○ Screen: an imaginary screen where you project your traumatic event. You control your memories through a remote control.
○ DVD: a variation of the above, in which you download your memories to a DVD and gain full control over them.
Depending on the warning time before you anticipate the flashback, you might need to do something fast, or can do something taking some time. If you begin to feel dizzy, you might have time to reach for your pet. If you are suddenly triggered, you need to ground immediately.
You can combine grounding techniques of different timings into a sequence: first contain the flashback with an “immediate” action, then take the time to get out of it with something longer (for example embrace and play with your pet), and finally, do a long “learned” activity to calm down.
Question:
Tell us some actions or activities that work for you to ground yourself and calm you down. You can also share ideas you have read or find promising to try.
I look forward to your comments !
All the best !
Marcelo.
I like to use TIPP skills, or generally DBT mindfulness skills (observe, describe, participate)
Some of the grounding techniques I use:
-5,4,3,2,1 technique
-Having different music playlists that can help me express my thoughts/feelings/emotions/behavior
-Holding an ice cube, putting my feet in a bucket of cold water, splash cold water on my face
-Essential oils
-Yoga/Taichi/Qigong
@Ivy229 oh soaking my feet in water works for me as well 
@inthequeue yes it is one technique that I do not think people tend to think of. I think people usually think of holding an ice cube in your hands
@WelcomeToChat
Thank you for the very informative post. Some things that work for me: Writing, focusing on the feeling of the paper in my hand, the way the pencil moves. Listening to music, and I have a safe place that I imagine
@WelcomeToChat I like positive self-affirmations and using the 54321 grounding technique.
@SynSavory that sounds helpful!
@StarlitSky4762
Thanks!
Thank you for the opportunity to share a few things that I have not yet mastered but that I strive to use during high anxiety or stressful situations, also when being Triggered.
Square Breathing: Inhale for 4 seconds as much as you can.....Hold all the air in for 4 seconds. Exhale for 4 seconds hold the air out for 4 more seconds, Inhale another 4 seconds, hold for another 4 seconds. You should form a square and repeat this 4 times. You can also increase the time you hold and inhale which because of the rhythm the brain has to calm down and the mind will begin to recognize that it can be changed to a healthier state.
Sometimes if the attacks are hard, I suck on a lemon or place an ice cube to my skin to help me ground myself. They all take daily practice and meditation. I have safety issues and I have to feel safe to engage in these practices.
Thank you for letting me share.
@scarletPear1945 thank you for sharing <3
@StarlitSky4762
but I will have to comply when I am in a better state of mind.@WelcomeToChat
I carried my coffee filled to the brim to see how steady I can be, as it turns out, didn't spill a drop. But it reminded me of the "hand on the knee" grounding practice.
1. Focus kept me steady
2. How can or what can we focus on to be steady and calm?
Blessings, Day😎
Things I use to calm me down:
PIlates breathing exercises. These exercises help you relax and concentrate and make you more flexible. It helps in your mind with clearer thinking.
Just relaxing and watching a movie. You might not think so but it helps immensely to focus on something other than yourself. You don't ike movies, use what you like most to detach and don't let it go no matter how much you are hurting.
Listening to cool soothing music, such as earth music, there are some exercises similar to that here on 7 cups.
Although I may not be able to practice it much but organic food and exercises work wonders.