Sometimes, when a person is dealing with difficult feelings, it can feel like they are stuck in an unending loop of anxiety. Grounding exercises are one way people can manage unpleasant emotions and their body’s reactions to those emotions, in order to return to the present moment. At Carolina Dunes Behavioral Health in Leland, North Carolina, we believe in giving our patients a wide array of options for managing their mental health, including coping skills like grounding exercises.
Why We Experience Anxiety
Your racing heart, tense muscles and sweaty palms are the result of your brain’s autonomic nervous system kicking in to keep you safe. When our ancestors faced life-threatening dangers like hungry bears or stampeding buffalo, this reaction helped them to make quick decisions that kept them alive. Today, this same automatic response from our brain helps us swerve out of the way of oncoming vehicles, but it can also show up at times when we aren’t actually fighting off a physical danger, like when we are worried about speaking in front of a group or we are questioning a decision we made in the past.
Panic Attacks
When we feel especially intense fear about things like public speaking or past mistakes, we know they aren’t going to attack us like a wild animal, but our brains and bodies may react like they will. When this happens, we may have a panic attack. Sometimes, our mind causes us to panic like we are being attacked when there is no stimulus whatsoever. Some symptoms of panic attacks include:
- Physical Symptoms
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- Rapid heart rate
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Nausea/upset stomach
- Numbness or tingling sensations
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- Emotional Symptoms
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- Feeling out of control
- Feeling detached from your body
- Concern that you are going to die
How To Address Panic Attacks
Certain activities can prime your fight-or-flight response and make it more likely that your anxious symptoms will spiral into a panic attack. These activities should be avoided:
- Excessive caffeine consumption
- Heavy use of alcohol
- Intense physical exercise
People with depression, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often have panic attacks. Therapy and medication may help to reduce anxiety or other underlying conditions that are contributing to panic attacks. You can also practice grounding exercises so that they become second nature when panic attacks do arise. Grounding does not replace therapy or medication, but it can be a helpful tool to use alongside them.
What Are Grounding Exercises?
Any activity that helps you focus on the present moment, rather than getting swept up in difficult feelings, can be a grounding exercise. There are a variety of free videos online that model grounding techniques for people who want to practice them. Some examples of grounding exercises you might find useful include:
- Body scans – focusing your attention on the top of your head, work your way to your toes, noticing all of the sensations your various body parts are feeling.
- 5-4-3-2-1 technique – paying attention to your surroundings, list five items you can see, four you can feel, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
- Mindful walks – as you walk, notice the rhythm of your steps and the sights, sounds, textures, and smells around you. If your mind starts to wander, guide it back to observing your surroundings.
- The rainbow game – look around wherever you are and find items that correspond to the colors of the rainbow. Start with red and work your way to violet, however many times you need to. It’s okay to skip colors if you cannot find anything in that shade.
- Breath observation – wrap your arms around your torso and notice how you can feel your chest expand and contract as you breathe.
- Making a list – some people find it helpful to write out lists of familiar items, like states, cities, dog breeds, types of dinosaurs, or models of cars.
- Listening to music – turn on some tunes and focus your attention on just the lyrics or just the instruments. You can listen again and focus on the other.
Times When Grounding Can Be Helpful
Grounding is most often used when people feel anxious, but it can also be helpful for managing:
- Depression
- PTSD
- Dissociation
- Shame
- Waking up in distress due to nightmares
- Emotions related to chronic pain
At Carolina Dunes, located near Wilmington, North Carolina, we want our patients to have a variety of tools available to manage difficult situations and opportunities to practice their skills before they return to their regular lives.
