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.
@WelcomeToChat I have some affirmations that I say. The past is over. I forgive myself. I am strong and will persevere. It's just a memory of a past event,it will pass. If I have more time I do 5-10 minutes of deep breathing exercises or videos.
Lovely Branch:
Thank you for your contriburion!
It looks like you are in an advanced stage of your healing path.
Your affirmations are wise and powerful, They seem carefully devised by you to meet your specific needs.
They appear to be spoken by a person already skilled in dealing with "the urgent", like flashbacks and intrusive thoughts, and already focusing on "the important", like strength and perseverance, and particularly self-forgiveness, which is one of the toughest and most important challenges to really heal.
I see that you go through a sequence, starting with containing the intrusion, then taking the opportunity to remind yourself of your achievements and the road ahead, to finally calm down with deep breathing and adequate videos.
I am glad that, despite all the struggles, you have found effective tools to cope, calm down, and do something to improve and grow.
I am particularly glad because I like you very much !
All the best!
Marcelo.
@adventurousBranch3786 I really like the idea of saying "I forgive myself." I will try that. thank you for the idea!
I use the five, four, three, two one grounding technique for senses. When doing it, I think really carefully about eachthing. Five things I can see, their colours etc. four things I can touch, texture. three things I can hear, two things I can smell, pleasant unpleasant, one thing I can taste or want to taste and why!
The 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is such a powerful, flexible, and always at-hand technique!
You teach us a lesson as to how it has to be done: stopping to really focus on each object of attention and, if possible, think a little about it.
Depending on the intensity and urgency of the situation, you can extend the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 taking some time to dwell in each step, thus becoming also very calming, and even a mindfulness
practice.
Thank you for your contribution!
All the best!
Marcelo.
Hi Marcelo @WelcomeToChat
This is awesome! May I add it to the growth path I created here ?
@ouiCherie
Thank you !
Sure! That would be a great honor !
Your Growth Path is a great resource !
I will make it mandatory for onboarding new team members...
@WelcomeToChat thank you 🤗
Sometimes use the 54321 method or the Rainbow method. Sometimes walking around in bare feet helps. And deep breathing.
This is an excellent post! Thank you for all the work that went into putting it together.
Thank you for your compliments, and your contribution. I particularly value them coming from such a thoughtful, reflective, active and respected Member of this community.
Could you explain briefly the Rainbow technique? While being similar to 54321, it is not as widely known, so it could be of help to other members to learn it and try it.
Walking in bare feet brings us back to the origins of the concept of "Grounding", that is, being in direct or indirect contact with the Earth and feeling the floor with our bare soles.
Also, I have read that "grounding" in an electrical sense is very powerful for "grounding" as we understand it. Serious research has been conducted about it, with two groups of students, etc, and the ones electrically grounded (which eliminates static) felt much better after the experiment.
Thank you again for your contribution!
All the best!
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat Thank You for your reply!
The rainbow method is done by searching for things the colors of a rainbow. Red, yellow, green, orange, indigo, purple and blue. Describe each object , pausing to notice the shades, the textures, the feelings and body associations with each item.
You can also use the alphabet to name things. You can pick any letter to start but you name 5 things with the letter you choose. This can some times help you orientate to the here and now.
Take care.
@WelcomeToChat
Hi Marcelo,
Sometimes, If able, I try to use parts of the 5,4,3,2,1. I also try to tell myself that I am here now,...they are not here now, they can not get to me now, I am safe in here now. If I can get through some of that and not dissociate away, I try to use some of the grounding sensory things that I am able to do again. It requires a lot of repeating of it all, until I am able to do other helpful things.
Hi!
I see that safety is a big issue for you. Feeling protected is what you need to stop those negative thoughts and get back to your secure, calm, current reality.
Maybe you could repeat frequently the "safety" affirmations during the day, to feel better and prevent intrusions like flashbacks, etc. Self-talk is very powerful...
I see that you go through a sequence, starting with 54321 to fast, immediately contain the flashback, then repeat your affirmations to feel safe, and finally do sensory practices to calm down.
This is an excellent grounding method!
I am glad that, after some repetitions, it is effective enough to get back to normal life and do what you want.
Thank you very much for your valuable contribution!
All the best!
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat
thank you Marcelo 
@WelcomeToChat
I see an art therapist. I've learned to ground myself by first doing a visualisation/meditation exercise and then making some art in response to that. There might be music in the background and I use a medium of my choice. Mandalas are often a good way to ground oneself.
@jovialButterfly6752
Thank you, Jovial. That is wonderful that you see an art therapist. That is really a super way. I have done that lots when younger and know how good you must feel when doing all you mentioned. Also, coloring Mandelas are very helpful. It is nice when doing all the things you mentioned to have options of mediums to pick from at that time and to use. You make me so happy just thinking about this. 
@Amelia2324
You're one of the sweetest people I know here Keep being the lovely person you are!
Dear Jovi:
Your approach reveals that you are a quite cultured and refined person, with well-established aesthetic values.
Art therapy is great, in that allows for the expression of repressed mental contents in a symbolic, and thus, not so disturbing manner.
Visualization is also an advanced, powerful, and versatile practice, once you have mastered it. The "safe place" is the most applied one, but the possibilities are endless (even recreational...)
Doing art after visualization reinforces and extends its soothing effects.
Summing up, you have a powerful, robust system in place that, I imagine, gives you much comfort, calm, and even the happiness of self-expression.
I am glad for that!
Particularly because I appreciate you so much!
All the best!
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat
I appreciate you so much too! thanks for being an amazing Mentor! So glad to be on this team.
i like to provide myself affirmations such as; i'm safe, i'm okay, i won't be hurt, and there is no urgency when i'm having flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. to ground myself and feel more present, i like to focus on the weight of my body on the chair or bed or whatever i'm sitting/laying in to feel my body there. i also enjoy imagining that safe place where i feel warm and protected with those that i love
Hi !
Thank you for your contribution!
As I told Amelia, I see that safety is a big issue for you. Feeling protected is key to stop negative thoughts and get back to your secure, calm reality.
Maybe you could repeat often these "safety" affirmations during the day, to feel better and even prevent intrusions. Self-talk is very powerful indeed.
Regarding the "feeling the weight" practice, I learned a system called Autogenics, which further extends this idea to achieve a state of deep calm and relaxation through a learned mind-body connection.
It was invented by a Russian doctor (!!!) and is regularly used in many areas, including by top athletes to implant positive performance affirmations in their subconscious.
If you like the "heaviness" practice, you may like it. It worked wonders for me. It takes some weeks to establish the mind-body connection, but after that, for the rest of your life, just repeating a brief formula, it calms you down and relaxes you deep and fast.
I have extracted the technique from a book to share it with you. HERE it is.
I see you also practice the "Safe Place" and the "Safe Club" visualizations. That also takes some time to develop, but once done, you have created a potent, effective, and very pleasant mechanism to calm down and feel safe.
You have a very complete and powerful set of tools to ground when you need it, and feel great whenever you wish.
This sequence of affirmations, relaxation and visualization, is the "state of the art" in grounding.
You have walked a long learning journey, with an open mind and a zest to learn useful things along the way.
Congratulations on that!
Thank you again for your very valuable contributions!
All the best!
Marcelo.
Hi, Marcelo. Thank you for this so interesting and important thread.
Some of the things I do to try to ground myself are:
*Crossing my arms on my chest while repeating that this place is safe and I'm safe now.
*Watching a youtube video of certain song that means a lot to me. It works almost always.
*Snapping my fingers and trying to create some rhythm or to follow a song in my mind.
*When I feel like something is going to happen (like feeling distant and dissociative or in that weird moment right before the start of a flashback) I put my rollerblades on and go out skating.
*I used to splash cold water on my face and it was usefull, but due to an awaken memory about washing up I'm not able to do it now.
*My favourite one: coming to SR and doing 5 4 3 2 1 with some of my friends.
I don't remember any other method right now.
I wish you all a wonderful week 😊
Dear Kimmy:
Thank you for your compliments and your many valuable contributions!
All are very interesting and original. Like you devise your own techniques by trying new things until you find what works for you.
What I have found most intriguing is using your Rollerblades to avert a flashback! That`s super-cool!
Also using the 54321 while chatting in a Support Room. This is a very clever finding, of how a "mere" chat room can be useful for something so crucial.
Besides, you add an important element: that many techniques, 54321 in particular, lend themselves to enlist the help of a trusted person to guide you out of your confusion. And that you might do it whenever possible.
This is a very valuable point, that I have not mentioned in my post.
Thank you again for your participation, Kimmy!
Your presence is always very appreciated in the Forums.
All the best!
Marcelo.
Thank you, Marcelito. You're always so nice, warm and sweet to me 💖
Yes, I've found several different ways to keep me "sane" and some work better than others, but they are not infallible. I used to go skating the last summer when I knew I was going to have a flashback or something. You know, that moment when you feel like there is something wrong but you don't know what it is, and you "feel" like something is going to happen. I don't know if other people feel that too, but it happens to me sometimes. It's like a bad memory is trying to come to surface but my mind doesn't find the file, it feels strange but I know that I must do something or I'll have a bad moment. So, in those cases when I know I have some time before bad things happen, I just took my rollers and went out.
I forgot to talk about another way to try to keep bad thoughts at bay and it is by focusing most of the time in one thing. I spend hours (some days more than 12) just reading my school textx and working on past assignments. It keeps my mind busy and I'm having good nights with enough rest, but I'm feeling the consequences of it now: I feel too stressed and drained, and I fear that I'm dependant of it and if I stop studying all the bad memories and thoughts will come back, so I don't dare to stop.
Anyway, thank you for replying. I adore your posts.
@WelcomeToChat the yoga pose "legs up the wall" really helps me be grounded. It distracts me from my thoughts. There are some other grounding yoga poses which are useful as well. Personally I find the positions in which my forehead is close to the ground the most beneficial.
Wow! That's far out! I never thought it that way.
Besides, you seem a yoga expert...
Now that you mentioned it, what I find valuable of Yoga in the context of grounding, is that it demands deeply focusing on your mind as well as on your body. This is very demanding and calming at the same time, so it takes all your thoughts out of the intrusive ones.
It also involves proprioception, balance, touch, and feelings of tension and weight in different body parts. This variety of stimuli is very valuable for grounding.
Thank you for your outstanding contribution!
All the best!
Marcelo.
@WelcomeToChat thank you. The thing about yoga is, if you have an established routine, then once you start doing one pose, you cannot just stop there without doing the following poses as well. The next poses or "asanas" would automatically start playing into your mind and you will be engaged doing the asanas instead of focusing on intrusive thoughts.
#1 I use art to immerse myself. I start painting or art journaling. Canvas and paints with brushes just gets me into a meditative state of mind. I'm totally focused on what I am trying to create. The scene on a picture or some other artistic image I'm thinking about.
#2 I will use chores around my home to distract and ground myself. Sometimes the smell of lemon cleaners and the hum of a vacuum cleaner or laundry machines works to put my focus on something productive.
#3 I will use excercise to get me motivated. I use a counting technique as a focus. On treadmill or weight machines count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, etc. each step is in rythym with my counting.
best, 💜
ABB
