3 Grounding exercises you can do in less than a minute.
Overwhelmed? Triggered? Grounding can help.
Grounding works by orienting your brain in the present moment. When we’re overwhelmed and triggered our brains are living in a different time. Overwhelmed is a brain living in the future. Triggered is a brain living in the past. We want our brain to make sense of the current moment and know that we are safe. Here’s how:
5 Senses grounding. Move through each sense to orient yourself in the present moment. 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. It helps to actually touch/smell/taste/etc. each object.
Look around the room and find all objects that are a certain color or shape. For each object, note the feeling of your feet on the floor and take a breath through your nose and out through your mouth.
Starting at your feet, notice groups of body parts (feet, legs, etc) If there is tension, gently squeeze the muscle groups and relax with a breath out.