Stress is a part of life for everyone. An argument, a near accident, losing a job, the death of a loved one, or a chronic illness can create stress. Good things, such as having a baby, getting married, or getting a promotion may also cause stress. Some people have developed excellent mechanisms for dealing with it, while others could benefit from learning and implementing stress management techniques.
Why learn to manage stress?
Your body creates a physical response to stress which is intended to save your life. Unfortunately, our modern lives create many stressful situations that are not life-threatening, but our bodies still create the same response. This is sometimes helpful, but when it continues to happen over a prolonged period of time it becomes chronic stress and can negatively impact your health.
Anxiety is a common response to stress. Unfortunately, long-term anxiety increases the risk of other mental health conditions and physical illnesses. Anxiety can also produce a stress response in your body, increasing the potential for negative health consequences.
Severe acute stress is often caused by life-threatening situations or being the victim of a crime. These situations can cause mental health disorders such as acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to negatively impacting mental and emotional responses, these disorders can also create problems in your physical health.
No matter what causes your stress response, your physical and mental health may be harmed by ongoing stress. Therefore, it is important to know how to respond well to it and how to calm yourself down. Your response may be so uncontrollable or severe that it seems like you are a victim of your own thoughts, emotions, and physical response. However, with practice and consistency, you can learn to manage the way you respond to stress.
Whether your emotions are spiraling out of control, your thoughts are overwhelming, you are experiencing flashbacks, or anxiety is taking control, grounding techniques can help you calm down and learn to manage your mind, emotions, and body. Over time, you can retrain yourself to respond better to stressful situations.
What is Grounding?
Grounding techniques help you pull back from negative emotions, memories, thoughts, or flashbacks and focus on the present so you can calm down. Many techniques involve focusing on one or more of your five senses. Everyone is different, so it is unlikely that every one of these techniques will work for you. Try them out when you are only a little stressed and choose what works best for you. Sometimes we surprise ourselves though, so it is beneficial to try a variety of techniques since something may be helpful that you wouldn’t have guessed just by reading the description.
Once you decide what techniques you prefer, practice them! It is helpful to practice when you are only slightly stressed or anxious. That will help them become a reflex, and when you are feeling overwhelmed by your response, the techniques you have chosen will take less effort and be more natural, calming, and familiar.
Grounding Techniques
Many therapists recommend the 5-4-3-2-1 technique because it engages all five senses. List things around you, working backward from 5. You could start by listing five things you see, then four things you hear, three you can smell, two you can touch or feel, then one you can taste. The order of senses does not matter but try to focus on the details of the items as you list them. It also helps to speak out loud if possible. For example, if you are listing four things you can feel say, “I feel my soft, warm socks. I feel the rough chair against my hand. I feel the smooth desk with my fingertips. I feel the cool air moving against my skin.”
It may work better for you to focus deeply on one item. Pick an object and describe in detail how it looks and feels. If you have an object small enough to fit in your pocket, you can take it with you, so it is available any time you need it.
It may also help to pick one sense. Immerse yourself in everything you can hear, see, or smell. Or you can pick one item with one sense. Here are some possibilities.
Sight
Count something. How many trees, or pieces of furniture, or floor tiles can you see?
Describe the details of the way something looks. What are the different shades of color in a tree? Are the branches straight or gnarled? What do the individual leaves look like? How do the shadows or the breeze affect the tree’s appearance?
Play a distracting game or read something. Just be sure that it is engaging enough to fully occupy your mind.
Touch
Put your hands in water and notice how it feels on the parts of your hands. Switch from cool to warm or warm to cool and notice the difference.
Hold an ice cube in your mouth and notice how it feels.
Rub your hand over a piece of furniture or clothing. Notice the texture and how it feels against the different parts of your hand.
Scent
Notice the smells around you. Are they strong scents or weak? How many scents are there?
Light a scented candle or smell an essential oil with a scent that soothes you or reminds you of something good.
Taste
Chew or suck on something with a strong or enjoyable taste and focus on the taste and the sensation of the item in your mouth. A mint, cinnamon gum, something sour or spicy, or a piece of chocolate may all be good choices.
Sound
Listen to everything around you. Try