4 Simple Grounding Techniques for Anxiety and Overwhelm
Although anxiety and stress seem to be the norm for so many people in our modern world, I’m a passionate believer that that doesn’t have to be the case. Teaching our nervous systems to calm down not only helps us to feel more happiness and inner peace, but also benefits our productivity, our relationships, and our ability to impact the world at large.
It can feel really difficult in a moment of overwhelming anxiety and stress to remember what to do to get back to equilibrium. So I’ve made a “cheat sheet” of some of the grounding techniques that I teach clients to use when their minds are racing or they feel overwhelmed by emotions.
Grounding essentially means bringing your mind down into your body and your physical environment, in the here and now, so you aren’t trapped by the thoughts that are causing you anxiety. By coming into the present moment in this way, we can release thoughts of the past or worries about the future and allow ourselves to feel safe and relaxed right now. That doesn’t mean we avoid dealing with reality, it just means that when we come back into “problem-solving mode” after a moment of grounding, we’re functioning from a much more resourced, rational, and relaxed place.
Before we dive into the techniques, I’d like to take a quick moment to explain why grounding works and why it's necessary. Through evolution, the human body developed a survival mechanism commonly called “Fight or Flight” - the sympathetic nervous system. This is the system that kicks into gear when we’re threatened- like when our ancestors were being chased by a tiger. The problem is, in our modern world, we aren’t often being chased by tigers anymore, and our bodies kick into Fight or Flight far more than is really necessary for survival.
The imagination is very powerful, and our systems often interpret comparatively innocuous events (job interviews, difficult conversations, being stuck in traffic and late to a meeting) as a threat to our survival, and fight or flight kicks in. For many people, nervous system activation becomes chronic, and it creates that low level hum of anxiety that seems to never leave. After years of this, we can develop chronic illness and other stress related diseases that are very harmful.
To counteract this, we can use processes such as grounding techniques to teach our nervous systems that we AREN’T being chased by a tiger, and it’s okay to relax. We can still be productive, motivated and energized from a relaxed state - in fact, you’ll probably find you’re a lot more efficient when you get your nervous system calmed down.
To begin retraining your nervous system, I recommend you set an alarm to practice one of these techniques every hour or two for the next few weeks (that may seem like a lot, but they only take a few minutes and the repetition will be worth it!) Practicing these when you are just a little bit anxious or stressed will make it much easier to remember to reach for them when you are feeling really swamped or particularly overwhelmed.
4 Simple Grounding Techniques
1. The 5- 4- 3- 2- 1 Technique
This process engages your senses to get you out of your thoughts and in to the present moment. Start by taking a few deep breaths, breathing in for a count of 3 and out for a count of 3.
Now look around the room and name (out loud or in your head):
5 things you can see (a tree out the window, my desk, a ceiling fan)
4 things you can feel (clothes against my skin, the air from the fan, the carpet)
3 things you can hear (people talking, a dog barking)
2 things you can smell (if you don’t smell anything right away, you can reach for something to smell, such as a candle or a plant)
1 thing you can taste (the taste of tea from earlier, the minty taste from gum, etc.)
2. Focus on an object
Find an object in your environment that you think is interesting to look at. It could be something like a stone, or a plant, or even an every day item like a pen.
Take a moment to really look at the object, taking in all the details as if you’d never really seen it before. What do you notice? If you’re looking at a plant, you could notice the color and shape of the plant, and the small designs in the leaves. If you’re looking at a pen you might notice what’s written on it, or what color it is.
If you can pick the object up, see how it feels in your hand - is it light or heavy? Is the surface smooth or rough? Take some time to observe as much as you can about the object.
3. Support chair
This is a great one to use if you’re feeling really “up in your head” or anxious and flighty. Begin by sitting in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Bring your attention to your feet and notice any sensations. Wiggle your toes and rock your feet back and forth, noticing the feeling of your feet on the ground.
Now bring your attention to your body sitting in the chair. Notice where your legs and back are touching the chair. Feel any sensations there- does it feel soft against your skin, or more firm? Allow your weight to really settle into the support of the chair, feeling that your body is being held up by that support. See if you can release any tension you’re feeling into the support of the chair beneath you.
Now do the same with your feet- noticing that your feet are being held by the ground and you can just relax them. Sit here feeling the support of the chair and the ground for as long as feels comfortable.
4. Move your body
If you feel like you have too much nervous energy to do the above exercises, it probably means you could benefit from moving your body and getting some of that energy out.
My favorite way to do this is to put on a fun song and dance it out, just letting all the parts of me move to the music however they want to. I let it be silly - laughing at myself a little can really break the spell of whatever worry trap I was in.
You can also clean something, go for a walk or a jog, or shake your body: start by shaking out an arm or leg and then progressively shake out each part of your body and then your whole body at once.
Once you’ve gotten some of that energy out, you can go back to one of the calming techniques above.