Grounding is a techinique which can help you to get into your body and stay present with what is happening, right here and right now.
Grounding is something you need to practise over and over again so you can develop new neural pathways in the brain that keep you in that place of calm, safe, present moment awareness. When panic and fear take over, adrenalin floods your system and you get anxious, overwhelmed and even out of your body. Grounding is one way to stay here, and to calm yourself.
You have to train your brain how to know what that, safe, calm state feels like, especially if you have had trauma or did not feel safe growing up. This means practising grounding many times can be helpful. Your body and brain become habituated to the practise and gradually they become familiar with the grounded state.
There are many techniques to help you get grounded. Here are three to get you started:
1) Practice feeling the connection your body makes with the chair you are sitting in. Can you feel your feet on the floor? The points of contact your feet make with the floor?
Can you feel the backs of your legs making contact with the chair?
Can you feel your butt contacting the chair?
Can you feel your back against the back of the chair?
Can you feel where your arms are connecting, what they are touching?
See if you can sink in and back and down into your body, just a little bit more.
Notice the physical and emotional sensations that might arise as you do this. Just notice, without any judgment. There is no right or wrong, just notice what you notice.
2) Step outside on a summer’s day and place your bare feet on the earth. Feel the sensation of your feet touching the bare soil. Feel your weight as you lean in. Breathe. Feel the weight of your body sinking down.
3) Imagine a silver cord dropping from the base of your spine, plummeting to the very centre of the earth. Imagine a golden ring with your name engraved upon it, and see the cord attach firmly to the gold ring. Imagine that the gold ring itself is held firmly at the centre of the earth. You may or may not feel a slight tug down on the base of your spine as you do this.
There are many other ways to ground and I am happy to teach these to you in counselling. The bottom line though is you ideally have to commit to a daily practise, so your hard work pays off and reaps results.
Happy grounding!
Please feel free to contact me to discuss your particular needs and see how I may be of assistance. I offer a free 20 min consult by phone where we can see if we would be a good fit to work together.
You can learn more about depression by clicking here or more about anxiety by clicking here.