Anxiety therapists in Texas give three grounding skills for when anxiety becomes overwhelming.
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone has some level of anxiety at some point in their life. A common example is when you feel worried or anxious about having a medical test or a job interview.
During times like these, anxiety is normal.
However, some people find it hard to control their worries, and feelings of anxiety can be more constant and start to affect their daily lives.
Anxiety is the main symptom of several conditions, for example:
Panic disorder
PTSD
Or social anxiety disorder
It is often correlated with Depression, where it is common to see both co-occurring
Grounding Techniques for Anxiety Management
Here are three grounding techniques for when you're feeling anxious:
Breathing Exercises
Belly Breathing: Belly breathing is a simple technique to help your nervous system relax. Start by sitting or lying in a comfortable position, then place one hand just below your belly button and the other hand on your chest. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. If you are successfully breathing from your diaphragm (the main component of belly breathing, your chest shouldn't move. Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Notice the hand on your belly moving inward. Do this breathing 3 to 10 times until you feel yourself relax.
4-4-4 Breathing: This exercise also uses belly breathing to help you relax. You can do this exercise either sitting or lying down, take a deep, slow breath from your belly, and silently count to 4 as you breathe in, then hold your breath and count to 4, breathe out completely as you again count to 4, repeat until you begin to feel calmer.
Roll Breathing: This helps you to develop full use of your lungs and begins the same way as the above. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, and do this 8 to 10 times. When you have completed the first step, exhale slowly through your mouth, make a quiet, whooshing sound, feel the tension leaving your body as you become more and more relaxed. Practice breathing in and out in this way for 3 to 5 minutes until you're feeling more relaxed.
2. Play a memory game.
Everyone has played some type of memory game at some point. Whether that's a spot-the-difference, simple pairing game using playing cards, or even doing a crossword.
Study a busy or detailed photograph/picture for 5 to 10 seconds. Then, turn the photo face-down and recreate it in your head, in as much detail as possible. Alternatively, you can mentally list all the things you remember from the picture.
Memory card games test your ability to remember patterns. They're a helpful way of distracting the mind to concentrate on something other than your worries and fears. It can also help to improve executive function, which is the ability to monitor and adapt behavior to help meet goals.
3. Describe a common task or visualize a daily task you enjoy or don’t mind doing.
Think of an activity you do regularly or can do very well, such as making a coffee, locking up your office, or doing your laundry. Go through the process step-by-step, as if you are giving someone else instructions on how to do it.
For example, “The clothes feel warm coming out of the dryer. They’re soft and feel light in the basket, Spread them out over the bed so they won’t wrinkle. Folding the sheets first, shake them out before folding them into halves, then thirds,” and so on.
Visualizing familiar tasks can help to ground you and calm the mind as it gives a sense of comfort.
Do you know of or use any grounding techniques that we haven't mentioned? If so we'd love to know.
XO,
Grace
