Grounding techniques

If you have anxiety and panic attacks, you must be scared to death. After all, that is the essence of this disorder. you will be surprised, tho, how many people suffer from it. People different by age, by race, by social status and by way of living. Anxiety made her way into hospitals, offices and nursing homes. The way we live in the 21st Century is prerequisite for developing all kind of mental Illnesses and although we are so modernized the Stigma around it is still strong.

Living in big cities, always attached to our phones, always connected, we lost the touch with nature. We feel insecure, restless, disconnected from ourselves and our surroundings. All that are symptoms of anxiety, but also means that we are ungrounded, not fully present to our bodies. 

Personally, I always have been a nature kid, it gives me stability and it makes me standing firmly on the ground. Now I live in the capital of my country, I travel an hour every morning to work and I always hurry somewhere. Add to that some personal problems, the loss of loved ones and the fact that I am a nurse and I deal with all kind of sicknesses in my daily life, no wonder that I ended up in a day stationary for recovery.

When my psychotherapist presented me the grounding techniques I found the tool that helped me to connect with myself and to feel present in my body again. Basically, these are simple exercises with huge therapeutic effect and healing power.  Here are some of my favorite:

• 5-4-3-2-1 - This technique is basic and is strongly recommended for a beginning. The principle is simple - our 5 sensations are the first door, of many, in the way to our conscious, so when we feel distant and frightened it is what can bring us to reality. The technique itself is that: Name 5 things you can see - if you can do it out loud is even better. Name 4 things you can touch and touch it if possible. Name 3 things you can hear - if there are no sounds, create it on your own. Name 2 things you can smell - even your hair smells. Name one 1 thing you can taste - is good always to have some drops or gum in you. That's it! It is so simple and so efficient at the same time.
• Re-orient yourself in place and time by asking yourself some or all of these questions:

1. Where am I? 
2. What is today?
3. What is the date?
4. What is the month?
5. What is the year?
6. How old an I?
7. What season is it? 

• Earthing - Walk barefoot at home, on soil, on sand or even on the street. People who do that regularly report that they are calmer, sleep better and get sick less.
• Describe the steps in performing an activity you know how to do well. For example, how to cook a meal you love, how to create an Excel Sheet and so on. 
• Name all your family members, their age and one of their favorite activities. 
• And last but not least, my personal favorite: Describe an object, the way you would describe it to someone who never has seen it before. Shape, texture, color, smell, the sound it makes when you move it - the more, the better.

You can use the grounding techniques in your everyday life or in your fight with anxiety and compulsions. These exercises are a big part of my daily routine and normal life now. Try it, I am sure you gonna love it, and if not you can always figure out the practice that suits you.

Sending you positive vibes!