Grounding Techniques for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

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By Aayushi Bagga

 

Grounding techniques are strategies that help an individual manage their emotions and memories that are linked with traumatic incidents. The aim behind grounding techniques is to remove an individual from the negative flashbacks and thoughts they face. Grounding techniques decrease the intensity of these negative feelings one would feel by the use of the five senses.

 

Many with PTSD experience anxiety, panic episodes, dissociation, and hypervigilance. However, grounding techniques have been seen to bring immediate relief at the moment and change the brain’s reaction over time as well. Some examples of grounding techniques could be simply noticing what is around us, listening and trying to recognize the noises in the distance, etc.

 

How grounding techniques work

 

Grounding techniques make use of the five human senses, i.e., sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight, that help connect a person with their here and now. When we sing a song or have a sour candy, they will produce sensations that are difficult to ignore and hence helps us distract from what’s going on in their mind. It will help you connect with the present moment, i.e., the sour taste of candy, which will reduce the likelihood of you slipping back into the flashback.

 

Grounding techniques are individual- what works for one might not work for the other person. One could try various ways, and through trial and error, one can find a way that works the best for them.

 

Grounding Techniques for PTSD

 

Sight for grounding: Activating our visual senses in the most frequently used grounding techniques helps activate one’s visual sense in a rational way. Some ways to activate visual senses are

• 1. Scan for shapes around you: Categorize and count how many square, oval, rectangular and circular items are there around you.
• 2. Make a game for yourself: Pan any item- it could be cars, birds, colors, and sound. How many of them can you see?
• 3. Scan for colors: Start by picking one color, let’s say red. Now look for everything red there is around you and once you are done with it, move on to the next color.
• 4. Count all pieces of furniture around you
• 5. Put on your favorite show
• 6. Read a novel
• 7. Solve crossword puzzles, sudoku, word search, etc.

Listening for grounding: The next sense that we all so frequently use is listening. Our brain does the job of screening out sounds that we don’t need to know, but we can notice them intentionally. Let’s see how

• 1. The best technique is to put on some music and listen to it mindfully. Usually, when we play music, we are not very mindful of every word or beat, but for this technique, be mindful- What instruments do you hear? How high/low are the notes going? What are the lyrics?
• 2. Notice sounds around you. You may not listen to the birds chirping outside your window or your refrigerator making noise usually, but for this technique, sit and listen to all noises and see how many sounds are you able to recognize?
• 3. You can also call a dear friend and speak to them.
• 4. Put on some relaxing music like white noise, ASMR, etc.
• 5. You can also start reading out loud a book or a novel.

Touch for grounding: Another variation of grounding is to do with touch. Touch will bring your body into the moment and assure your brain it’s safe in the present.

• 1. Just hold an object in your hand and notice how it feels in your hand.
• 2. Try breathing exercises. Slowly inhale and notice your lungs filling with air and gently breathe out through your mouth. Notice the sensation on your lips as you breathe out.
• 3. Cuddle or pet your cat or your dog if you have one.
• 4. Drink chilled beverages.
• 5. Hold an ice cube in your hand.
• 6. Massage your temples
• 7. Go for a hot or cold shower

Taste for grounding: By activating your taste buds, you can distract yourself from flashbacks and memories.

• 1. Bite on something sour. This will light up so many taste buds in your mouth.
• 2. Eat ice cream and notice the sweetness, coldness, and other sensations it is producing in your mouth.
• 3. Eat chocolate and notice how it melts in your mouth or how it feels as you roll it around with your tongue.

Smell for grounding: Last, of our five senses, the smell can also be an effective grounding technique. Interestingly, the area of our brain that is used in processing smell is the same area that also deals with our memories; hence smell can bring back both positive and negative flashbacks. So look for familiar and favorite smells.

 

• 1. Smell the shampoo you use.
• 2. Take a sniff of coffee or a piece of chocolate and take a couple of breaths.
• 3. Keep your perfume or your scented lotion with you and use it to distract yourself.
• 4. Light up a scented candle or have a diffuser in your room.

These grounding techniques can be done anywhere in any environment. If you feel the flashback coming on, you can use the grounding technique that works the best for you and distracts you and brings you to your present- the now. It might take some dedication, but working with grounding techniques becomes easier with time. Don’t be demotivated if a certain technique doesn’t work for you; try something else. No matter what the grounding technique, the ultimate goal is to live in the now and focus on our present every time the past starts coming up.

 

Beyond Grounding

Managing the symptoms of PTSD in the right manner is very important. It is vital that you work with a therapist to get to the underlying cause, as the brain may face difficulty working through the traumatic event and coming back to a place where it feels safe.

While grounding techniques will bring your short-term relief, CBT treatment is very effective in healing from PTSD.