5 Grounding Techniques To Overcome Anxiety

Illustration of grounding techniques to overcome anxiety (Freepic/Prostoleh)

YOGYAKARTA There are many ways to deal with anxiety, one of which is by practicing grounding. What is grounding and how to train it to deal with anxiety?

Grounding techniques are a strategy to connect or 'ground' yourself in the midst of the situation they are facing. This technique is a form of full-awareness exercise and has proven to help many mental health conditions, one of which is anxiety. According to research in 2014, grounding has been proven to relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and pain. Experts also believe that grounding techniques help you break away from emotional pain so that you can better manage emotions.

Grounding techniques involve activation of the five senses to calm anxiety. Here's how to practice grounding techniques when anxious or tense due to stress.

Before starting the grounding technique that focuses on vision, it is important to regulate the respiratory pattern. First, you can do a 5-5-5 breathing pattern, which is to inhale for 5 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and exhale for 5 seconds.

To involve the sense of vision in practicing grounding techniques, it can be done in several ways. First, pay attention to every small detail of the objects in your room. Focus on small objects, such as pencils, paper, piles of books and titles, coffee cups, to other small objects on the table. You can also see clouds, birds, sunrises, or anything around you. You can also focus on moving objects, such as vehicles, blown leaves of the wind, or dancing nets driven by the wind.

Focus on touch with the sense of touch, helps keep you from anxiety and helps reduce physical signs of anxiety. How to do grounding techniques that focus on touch, by recognizing the temperature your skin touches. For example, you hold a warm cup of coffee or tea. It can also touch certain surfaces, as often as touching your hair, nose, table surface, or your bag that is being gossiped about.

Focus on external sounds, help you stay 'ground'. You do this by listening to whatever sound is heard. Starting from a sound that sounds close, then try to focus on listening to sounds that come from a distance. Or, you can listen to a musical arrangement and try to sort out what instruments compose the composition of the music.

You can focus on the smells around you if you want to do a grounding technique that focuses on the sense of smell. You can also turn on aromatic candles, or enter the bathroom and breathe the shampoo or soap used.

Try choosing something that you can easily taste. Like rubber candy, a piece of mint leaf, coffee, sugar, salt, or a piece of food. You actually don't need to taste these foods if you don't have them. On the other hand, try to think about different tastes when you remember them.

Those are the five ways to practice grounding techniques to deal with anxiety. It is important to know, according to PsychCentral, Monday, September 2, it involves all five senses and focuses on the catch of the senses, helps relax, reduce stress, and overcome anxiety.