#grounding techniques

[traumasurvivors]

There are several different categories of grounding techniques, and one of those is "Taste Grounding Ideas."

These can be helpful to distract yourself.

Here's a written list of my examples in my graphic:

Suck on a mint

Bite into a lemon

Eat a sour candy

Eat something spicy

Let a chocolate melt in your mouth

Eat a favourite snack

Drink a favourite beverage

Chew on strongly flavoured gum

[zee-rambles]

———-

Grounding Techniques

First I Prev I Next

[butterfly-in-progress]

So I was coming down from a panic attack/sensory meltdown the other night and struggling to get my brain to work, and my partner asked me, "hey, the first four prime numbers are 1, 2, 3, and 7 right?"

Immediately I reminded them that 5 exists and then they went "okay, and the next one is 11?" And I was like "yeah, then 13," and then it just became a thing about listing off all the prime numbers I could think of. This worked until I was back to myself and could talk about what was wrong.

Here's the thing. My partner is a senior materials scientist. He definitely knows the first four prime numbers.

That motherfucker got it wrong on purpose to get me to correct them. And I fell for it 🤣

Anyway this is a really useful technique for me as an autistic person, getting me to list off things I know well to soothe my brain in the aftermath of a Bad Time.

[gentleaffirmations]

Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are safe here in the present moment.

[kittycommitte]

[disassociation-culture-is]

Please tell me some grounding techniques.

My disassociation is getting out of hand

Also I love your blog

personally counting helps me a lot! i can sit and count my fingers pretty easily.

2. introduce new physical sensations and focus on them! nothing dangerous. hand under running water, hold ice. something like that

3. 1-5 is always a good one - 5 things you hear, 4 things you see, 3 things you can touch from where you’re sitting, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste

4. holding a comfort item of some kind! ill hold one of my plush toys and think through how I got it, who I got it with, etc

healthline therapistaid medicalnewstoday

~ mod maz

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

setting small objects on fire over a sink will fix me. pretty sure

[traumasurvivors]

This is the 5-4-3-2-1 method for grounding! I'm going to break down the steps on the image, with a couple additional ones added.

Step 1 - Start with breathing if you can. Breathe in to the count of five, hold it for five seconds, and breathe out to the count of five. (If five is too long, feel free to adjust this to four or use an alternate breathing exercise you prefer.)

Step 2 - What are 5 things you can see around you? Examples: the clock on the wall, a plant on the windowsil, etc.

Step 3 - What are 4 things around you that you can touch? If you're up to it, also touch them and think about what they feel like (soft, hard, rough, etc). Examples: Maybe it's the blanket on your bed, maybe you're sitting on a chair, etc.

Step 4 - What are 3 things around you that you can hear? Examples: Maybe it's your cat purring, the fridge running, maybe there are birds outside, etc.

Step 5 - What are 2 things around you that you can smell? If you are not in an environment where you can smell something, feel free to move somewhere that you can or even bring a scent to the space (like body spray, body lotion, etc).

Step 6 - What is 1 thing you can taste? I find that people sometimes get frustrated with this one because if you haven't recently brushed your teeth or eaten, taste isn't easily identifiable. As an alternative if you don't currently taste something, what is is something you like to taste?

Step 7 - Take one final deep breath, counting to five as you breathe in, holding for five seconds, and then counting to five as you breathe out.

Step 8 - Take a moment to be proud of yourself. You did it and made it through this! If you can, try and put this aside to try and do once a day so that it may come to you easier in a time you need it. (I'll take this opportunity to share a reminder that you should practice grounding exercises when you're calm so that they are easier to do when you aren't! And sometimes, you'll be surprised at how helpful they can be when you don't even think you need it.)

[hammersys]

✦　˚ A list of Grounding Techniques and more!

The STOPP method ―

S - Stop; Just pause for a moment

T - Take a breath; Notice as you breathe in and out slowly. Try the box/triangle method.

O - Observe; What thoughts are going through your head? What are you feeling?

P - Pull back; Put things in perspective. What's the big picture? What are the facts?

P - Proceed; Think about what you're going to do next carefully. Do what is effective.

The NOW method ―

Notice your focus of attention. What are you thinking about? What's on your mind?

2. Observe yourself and tell yourself what you're doing. Examples;

I am sitting

I am looking

I am watching

3. Wise mind: Where should I focus on now?

The balloon method ―

Sit comfortably, with your eyes close and your spine straight. Bring your attention to your breathing.

Imagine that you have a balloon in your tummy. Everytime you breathe in, the balloon inflates. Everytime you breathe out, the balloon deflates.

Think about what you feel; Your stomach rising up and down, the sound of your breaths.

Thought or worries may come out, and that's okay. Don't judge yourself for having them. When they do, acknowledge them, let them drift by, and turn your attention back to the balloon. You can also notice things; Sounds, smells, etc. Again, bring your attention back to your breathing. You don't have to do anything with your thoughts.

Instead of a balloon, you can imagine other things; A flower blowing in the wind, or a dragon's wings flapping in the air- Anything that can help you focus. If the balloon method doesn't work, make it the flower or dragon method! Personalise it to what helps you.

Affirmations ―

I'm safe.

I am not in danger right now.

This is temprary.

This will pass.

Feelings and thoughts come and go.

I will be okay.

It will be okay.

I am strong.

It doesn't feel okay, but it is.

I am enough.

Other Information/Help ―

Accept your situation:

Do not talk down to yourself! You are not unreasonable or dramatic, and there is nothing you should be ashamed of. You are allowed to feel (intense) emotions and you are allowed to show them. Don't always stuff your feelings away or tell yourself that you can't feel them, you don't have to have certain emotions in certain situations! You are feeling these emotions, and that's what we need to continue.

Make a safe space:

To prevent further triggers, start to make a safe space for yourself. In case you are in a location that has triggered something, leave and go to a safe place. Make it as comfortable as possible.

Think about each of your senses:

Sound - Is it a busy road, or is it too quiet? Do you need earphones and/or earplugs? Do you want to turn up music, or ambience sounds?

Sight - Is the room dark, or is it light? Do you want all of the lights on, or do you want to be in a dark room? Would you rather have a little light (nightlight, LEDs)?

Touch - Would you like to touch something, such as a stim toy or stress toy? Would you like to be touched (A weighted blanket, or a hug)? Do you need to change into soft clothing, would you like a soft blanket to stay warm? Would you like sensory such as water?

Smell - Would you like a scented candle, or maybe a scented plushie? Maybe you would like to make some food, or you'd like to smell something that calms you down.

Taste - Would you like to have something to chew on? Would you like to have some gum to chew or something to drink? What kinds of foods/drinks do you like the taste of?

Address the trigger (if necessary/Optional)

Once you have calmed down, review what has happened; What was the trigger? Was it a situation, a place, a smell, or a thought?

Analyzing or reviewing isn't necessary! If you feel you've already calmed down, there's no obligation to do this.

Ask yourself questions about the trigger. Some questions could be:

What are your worries about the trigger?

How do you feel after the trigger? (Your emotion, state of body, etc).

Did you feel any physical/mental reactions to your trigger?

What would you like to change? Is there anything to work on?

Reward yourself!

Remain positive! This moment was rough, but you've managed to get through- Reward yourself! Get something nice to eat, treat yourself to a nice relaxing movie/gaming night- Or buy yourself hobby-related things!

Listed below will be some breathing gifs you can use;

BEFORE YOU COMMENT:

Everybody can use my resources, but keep discourse/syscourse out of our comments. Our anti-endo tag exists for personal interaction. Asks are anti-endo, etc, but as I've said, resources are for all.

[pilotofstarshipfables]

Some things I use to sooth the body when the somatic flashbacks hit

Heating Pad: Put it anywhere on the body where it relieves pain for you. Bonus points if the cover has some something nice on it. Ours has unicorns 🦄

Sippy cups with a soft opening: gives me something to bite on without the suffocation other oral stim toys sometimes give me. This is also a good one if you have jaw pain. 🍼

Your favorite candy: Helps ground and dispels taste flashbacks 🍬

Soft blanket: If you have to feel unwell at least the bed can be a pleasant sensory experience 🛏️

Calming music: Here’s a playlist to get you started but feel free to do whatever regulates you best

Flashcards with affirmations and grounding techniques: These should be kept wherever you are most likely to be when you experience flashbacks, eg. purse, nightstand 📝

Stuffed toys: Yes even adults can benefit from this! And if you age regress or are a system this will help the little ones feel safe 🧸 Hugging them distracts from other more unpleasant sensations

Ice packs: These can help ground you. Can also help with trauma related pain flairs 🧊

Most importantly remember that you will get through this. The sun always rises, the pain always lets go eventually. You deserve to live and see brighter days 💜

[bruxasdebolso]

[kittycommitte]

[multiplicity-positivity]

Grounding Techniques

We often mention and recommend grounding on this blog as a way to help folks who feel dissociated, overwhelmed, anxious, dazed, blurry, or disconnected. But we don’t have a post specifically compiling grounding techniques, so we decided to make one! Here are a few things our system does to ground ourselves when we’re feeling out of it.

Breathe!

Breathe in deep through your nose for 4 seconds, filling up your chest and belly with air, then exhale through your mouth for 7 seconds. Rinse and repeat - we usually do this 4-6 times in order to gain a bit more clarity or calm down.

The following clip can also be used - feel free to save this and breathe along with it to help calm down!

(Description:) A short clip of a small line expanding into a triangle, square, pentagon, adding sides up to an octagon with the prompt “Breathe in,” then shrinking back down to a small line with the prompt “Breathe out” over a period of nine seconds (End Description.)

4-3-2-1

Try to notice and pay attention to your surroundings. List 4 things you can see, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you can hear, and 1 thing you can taste or smell. You could also do 5-4-3-2-1 for sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste!

Sharp Experiences

Pull yourself out of a spiral, bring your focus on the present, or gain some sensation if you’re dissociating with a sharp experience. Hold a piece of ice or eat a lemon slice our a sour candy. Our system carries Warhead candies to help ground ourselves with sharp experiences.

Observations

Notice all sorts of things around you - clothes, furniture, utensils, anything within reach that you can safely touch. What is the texture like? Is anything soft, rough, smooth, hard, cool, or bumpy? What does it look like? Can you name some specific colors or shapes that you see? Try to be as specific with your observations as you can.

Take a walk

Take a short walk outside or around your current space. Try to notice how your body feels as you move. Count the steps that you take. Look at everything around you, and notice how what you see and hear changes with your movement.

Centering Statements

A centering statement can be a great way to help ground yourself in the present moment in time and space. You can write your statement down beforehand and take a look at it whenever you need, filling in the gaps for your present moment and situation. The centering statement our system uses these days says:

“My name is [system member]. I am a part of the Halberd Crew. I am [age] years old. I have [physical features]. The date is [date] and the time is [time]. I am in [physical location]. If I need help, I can contact [partner system] at [phone number].”

REST

While this may work for grounding when dissociated, this strategy is more intended for calming down when overwhelmed. We’ve covered this technique in detail in a previous post, which we’ll link HERE (<- hyperlink).

This pretty much sums up the grounding techniques that various members of our system use in order to help themselves when feeling disconnected or frazzled. We hope something here can be of some use to someone out there! Remember to look after yourselves to the best of your ability, and use some of these techniques to help ground yourself if you need to in the future. Thanks so much for reading, and take care!

[l-amore-di-un-angelo]

"Come fai ad avere sempre tutto sotto controllo?"

Come glielo spiego che sul più bello devo elencare

5 cose che vedo

4 cose che tocco

3 cose che sento

2 cose che odoro

1 cosa che assaporo

[neptuneslure]

here’s how to clear it *click me*

@/wetneptune on twt

[stimboardboy]

grounding technique cards