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A few years ago my friend from graduate school was relating to me how her daughter, who had recently acquired a new job was struggling with anxiety. She went on to describe to me how she got a great new job bit that one of the requirements of the job was to pass a comprehensive […]
A few years ago my friend from graduate school was relating to me how her daughter, who had recently acquired a new job was struggling with anxiety. She went on to describe to me how she got a great new job bit that one of the requirements of the job was to pass a comprehensive competency test. It seems that her anxiety was a form of test/performance anxiety. I suggested that she teach her the mindful grounding exercise. I will describe it and give examples below. I’ll come back to the conclusion of this story later.
Before you begin doing the grounding exercise you may want to find a few minutes and a place to yourself to concentrate on being mindful. The first step in the mindful grounding exercise is to identify five things you can see. Some examples might be…
The second step is simply to identify four things you can feel with your sense of touch. Some examples of this are…
The third step is to identify three things you can hear. For some people, this requires being more mindful than they are used to simply being cluttered with noise. Examples of this step are…
At this stage, it can get a little dicey for some people. From here on out the exercise requires mindful concentration. Step four of the grounding exercise is to identify two things you smell. Examples of this are…
The final step to the grounding exercise is to identify one thing you can taste. Examples of this are…
Now back to my story from above. My friend taught her daughter the grounding exercise. In addition, she told her to do the exercise a few times right before she had to take the test again. She did it, and consequently, her anxiety was lower and she did great on the test. This is sometimes called the 1-2-3-4-5 exercise. And as you can see it’s not complicated at all. It’s just paying attention to your senses and that can have a dramatic impact on struggles like anxiety, stress, depression, and coping with difficult situations. This and other exercises can be found here.
Click here to download my Mindful Grounding Exercise Infographic
Practicing grounding exercises can have many benefits. Grounding exercises are a form of mindfulness practice. Research suggests grounding exercises can affect wellness and health in many areas including cognition and emotional health. And there is a myriad of different kinds of grounding exercises. So what are some of the benefits of practicing grounding? Below are […]
Practicing grounding exercises can have many benefits. Grounding exercises are a form of mindfulness practice. Research suggests grounding exercises can affect wellness and health in many areas including cognition and emotional health. And there is a myriad of different kinds of grounding exercises. So what are some of the benefits of practicing grounding? Below are several benefits of grounding
Grounding exercises focus on physical sensations. Focusing on things like what we see, hear, smell, etc. Grounding by observing one’s senses is useful because it helps to cope with unwanted thoughts and sensations. These types of exercises are often used with people who struggle with PTSD, mood disorders, stress, and in substance use treatment.
That’s when we get in our hot tub time machine(or Delorean) and travel to the past or the future. When we go to the past we think about painful things from our past and play them over and over in that youtube viewer that only exists in our mind. Or we go to the future and think about all the unknown. “Will I have enough for retirement?” or “Will I find a romantic partner?” Your brain can’t be in two places at the same time. You can’t practice grounding and also be in the past or the future.
Grounding exercises are helpful in reaching a more relaxed state. While grounding, our level of relaxation increases. Consequently, our ability to cope also increases. Research literature establishes grounding as an effective coping technique for traumatic and unwanted thoughts and emotions. Relaxation is a key solution to coping with the consequences of many mental health struggles.
In conclusion, grounding exercises are easy to learn to do. They help people who struggle with stress, depression, anxiety, and similar mental health struggles. Click here to learn a simple grounding exercise.
