THE ART OF GROUNDING TECHNIQUES FOR ANXIETY AND PTSD
Living with PTSD or Anxiety means navigating a sea of relentless thoughts, constantly analyzing the past, worrying about the future, or critiquing yourself. This can feel overwhelming, making it difficult to tend to the things you enjoy doing. There are a variety of ways to manage this but one tool stand out above the rest - Grounding Skills.
Grounding Skills are essential for learning how to control your thoughts, they provide a means to redirect your attention from the tumultuous realm of thoughts to the present moment.
Grounding techniques are tools to shift your attention from thinking to being.
What is being? Being is simply experiencing what you See, Hear, Taste, Touch and Smell.
In a Holistic Approach to healing Anxiety and PTSD, Grounding Practices involve using your own body and tapping into your natural inner resilience. In the realm of Holistic Psychotherapy, grounding practices are more than just techniques; they're an integration of evidence-based practices and time-tested tools rooted in various cultural and spiritual traditions.
Grounding Tools bring you out of your head and into your body by engaging the senses.
Sensory-Based Grounding Techniques:
1. Aromatherapy:
Return to your body with through your sense of Smell. Scents with herbs, flowers, resins, or oils. Aromatherapy provides a direct pathway to the limbic system, effectively regulating emotions and grounding you in the present moment. Scent is a tool used across the globe in a variety of cultures as a means of deepening a ceremony or ritual. Consider a resin like Copal. Mayan and Aztec civilizations considered copal sacred. It was often used in religious ceremonies, rituals, and as an offering to the gods. Copal smoke was believed to carry prayers to the heavens. It is still used throughout Latin America in rituals from indigenous communities to Catholic services.
2. Sound Healing:
Explore the profound impact of sound on the body. Whether it's playing an instrument, listening to live or recorded music, singing, or humming, sound can be a powerful ally in regulating emotions. Consider incorporating tools like a soothing rattle for an enhanced grounding experience or drumming. Drumming is often an important part of indigenous rituals and ceremonies, acting as a means to connect with ancestors and the spiritual realm. Drumming is also used for dance and for staying awake in long ceremonies.
3. Re-Orienting (5-4-3-2-1 Method):
Engage your senses with the quick and versatile 5-4-3-2-1 method. Orient yourself to sight, touch, sounds, scent, and taste, providing an instant anchor in any environment. Start with 5 things you see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and one thing you can taste. Sped a few minutes in each sense and really focus deeply on it.
Grounding skills are not mere techniques; they are gateways to presence, bridging the gap between the chaos of the mind and the reality of the present moment. By incorporating these sensory-based practices, you can quiet the mind, cultivate inner calm, and navigate the challenges of PTSD and Anxiety with resilience.