Calming Strategies & Activities

Grounding is a technique that helps keep someone in the present. They help reorient a person to the here-and-now and in reality. Grounding skills can be helpful in managing overwhelming feelings or intense anxiety. They help someone to regain their mental focus from an often intensely emotional state.

Grounding skills occur when two specific approaches: Sensory Awareness and Cognitive Awareness:

Sensory Awareness

Grounding Exercise #1 Begin by tracing your hand on a piece of paper and label each finder as one of the five senses. Then take each finger and identify something special and safe representing each of the five senses. For example: Thumb represents a sight and a label for sight might be butterflies or my middle finger represents the smell sense and it could be represented by lilacs.

After writing and drawing all of this on paper, post it on you refrigerator or other safe places in the home where it could be easily seen and memorize it.

Whenever you get triggered, breathe deeply and slowly, and put your hand in front of your face where you can really see it-stare at your hand and then look at each finger and try to do the five senses exercise from memory.

Grounding Exercise #2

• Keep you eyes open, look around the room, notice your surroundings, notice all of the details (colors, textures, etc)

• Hold a pillow, stuffed animal or ball

• Place a cool cloth on your face, or hold something cool such as a can of soda

• Listen to soothing music

• Put your feet firmly on the ground

• FOCUS on someone's voice or a neutral conversation

Grouding Exercise #3 Here is the 54321 "Game"

• Name 5 things you can see in the room with you

• Name 4 things you can feel (feet on the ground)

• Name 3 things you can hear right now (fingers tapping, fan, etc)

• Name 2 things you can smell right now (or, 2 things you like the smell of)

• Name 1 good thing about yourself

Cognitive Awareness

Grounding Excercise #1 Reorient yourself in place and time by asking yourself some or all of these questions.

• Where am I?

• What is today?

• What is the date?

• What is the month?

• What is the year?

• How old am I?

• What season is it?

*Source: https://www.peirsac.org/peirsacui/er/educational_resources10.pdf