Grounding Techniques

Simply look around you and say out loud

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

You can breathe through your nose or mouth, it depends on what you are more comfortable with.

Simply breathe in for a count of 4 and breathe out for a count of 6. Repeat until you feel calm.

This exercise is easier to do with your eyes closed. You can breathe through your nose or mouth depending on what you are more comfortable with.

Breathe in for four and imagine you are drawing a line from left to right.

Breathe out for four and imagine drawing the line up.

Breathe in for four and imagine drawing the line across to the left.

Breathe out for four and imagine drawing the line down to meet with the start of the box.

Repeat until you feel calm.

This is a basic checking in technique to help reconnect yourself to your body. This can be done in a seated position to calm yourself during the day or in bed laying on your back.

Starting at your feet, connect with how they are connected to the ground or the bed, how the pressure feels on your feet. Notice the temperature, any sensations, any thing that is touching the skin. Notice if there is any discomfort and focus on it, breathing into the discomfort until it eases. Continue this moving up the body into the ankles, the calf, the thighs, the buttocks, the lower back, the upper back, the shoulders, the stomach, the chest, the upper arms, the  lower arms, the hands, the fingers, the neck, the head. Then simply breathe.