How to use Grounding Techniques | Kati Morton

- Hey everybody, today we're gonna talk

about grounding techniques
and how to use them.

But before we jump into this topic,

are you new to my channel?

Welcome, I release videos on Mondays

and on Thursdays, so make
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and have your notifications turned on

so that you don't miss out.

Now as always, let's start
by defining grounding.

I know I mention it all the time,

but I don't actually know if I've ever

taken the time to define it.

So grounding is a technique that helps

keep someone in the present,
instead of dissociating,

spacing out, or shutting down.

These techniques can
help reorient a person

to the here and now, and in reality.

Grounding skills can be helpful

in managing overwhelming
feelings or intense anxiety,

and I created a video
about grounding techniques

with Alexa a while back, so I'll also link

that in the description
if you wanna learn more.

The most common grounding techniques

I've talked about are
snapping rubber bands

on your arm, using fidget toys,

and counting colors, but
those don't work for everyone,

and I know that many of you have said

that you have a history of self injury

and snapping rubber bands can lead

to more urges to self
harm, also fidget toys

don't work for everybody,
and counting colors

can help once, but then what do we do?

Well thanks to fellow Kinion Sarah,

who got some help from
her therapist Rebecca

and her clinical pain coordinator Jenny,

she shared some more
ideas that will hopefully

help you stay present and
grounded when you need to.

And also just because I think
it's important to mention,

we do need to be grounded and present

whenever we're doing trauma work,

otherwise it's like our
brain is on a mini vacation

and it isn't given the
chance to reprocess anything.

So all the work that
we may be trying to do

in therapy or EMDR just
isn't really helping,

and it's kind of a
waste of time and money.

And that's why these techniques
are important and helpful.

Oh, and it's also important
that you do all of these

while practicing your yoga breathing.

If you haven't done yoga,
this really just means

that you breathe in for
three to four seconds,

hold it at the top, and breathe out

for four to five seconds, and then pause,

and do it again.

It's kind of breaking
our breathing into chunks

versus just mindlessly
breathing in and out.

And yoga breathing helps
us to calm our system down

and focus our energy into our breath,

kinda like meditation right?

And how the breath moves through our body,

paying attention to that
can be really important.

And you should also keep your eyes closed

while you do these, or at
least softly gaze somewhere.

And last, leave your judgment at the door.

There is no room for
judgment about how well

these work for you or how
many you're able to complete,

all you have to do is try.

Okay, now let's get into them.

Number one, clapping our hands,

so that you can feel the
sensation of that clap,

as it moves through your fingertips,

into your fingers, hands, arms,
down your back, et cetera.

Notice the tingling
sensation this creates,

and even pay attention
to how long it lasts.

How long do you feel it
as your eyes are closed

and you're experiencing this sensation?

And wait to open your
eyes until it's all gone.

So all those tingles that you maybe felt

aren't there anymore.

This can keep you in the here and now,

and by initiating this intense sensation,

right, clapping, we
could clap pretty hard,

hopefully it can pull you back out of

a potential flashback, dissociation,

or urge to shut down.

Number two, stomping your feet

and feeling that sensation, again,

like in your hands, you're going through

your tips of your toes, all the way

through your toes into your feet,

your legs, your back, how ever
it moves through your body.

I know certain areas in our body

can be easier to focus on than others,

so picking one that isn't
so emotionally charged,

or even attached to your self injury,

if you struggle with that, is best.

And just like the clapping option,

make sure you wait until the sensation

has left to notice where
that tingly feeling

traveled in your body,
and then open your eyes.

Number three, rubbing your hands together.

I know this sounds kinda weird,

but you can feel the warmth that builds up

between them as you rub them together,

and feel the heat move from your hands,

maybe it goes up your arms,
maybe even as your hands

are all warmed up, you
place them on your legs

or your arms and you
feel that heat sensation

move through you.

And again, just like the others,

wait until it's completely
gone to regain your focus

by opening your eyes and looking back

at your therapist or whatever it is

you were working on.

Number four, using a worry stone

or silly putty to move
around in your hand.

Close your eyes and feel its temperature,

texture, and its firmness.

You may wanna keep these things with you

when you're going to therapy or going in

to some situation that may be stressful.

You can play with it in your pocket,

and it can help keep you present

and more calm while you go about your day.

Remember though, you
need to focus your energy

onto that one object and
try to take mental notes

about how it feels, what
you feel in your body

when you touch it, and
all the stuff like that.

That's what makes it
a grounding technique.

Number five, we're gonna
use your sense of smell.

Essential oils can help with this a lot.

You can keep them in a
rollerball applicator,

you can buy these, I've
seen 'em online on Amazon,

or any health food store, I've seen 'em

even at Whole Foods,
or have an oil diffuser

going in your home or
when you're in therapy.

Smells like citrus, lavender, jasmine,

peppermint, and cinnamon,
there's a lot of 'em

are all known to help us focus.

So keeping these scents with you

and closing your eyes while you smell it,

maybe notice how it makes you feel,

is it a strong smell?

Does it remind you of a calming place,

or perhaps a happy memory?

Pay attention to that
scent, and notice how long

you can smell it, even though you maybe

already put the oil away.

Just like we'd wait to open our eyes

until that tingly sensation from clapping

or stomping goes away, do the same

with the oil, wait until that scent

is completely gone before we
open our eyes and reengage.

Six, we're gonna utilize
our sense of taste.

Now I know this can be
harder for those of us

who struggle with eating disorders,

but that's why it's important
to find grounding techniques

that help you most and
work for you specifically.

So for sense of taste, you
can keep peppermints with you,

ginger chews or tea, or even gum.

Notice the texture and the taste.

Does it tingle on your tongue?

Pay attention to how long you taste it.

Is it spicy?

Salty?

Sweet?

Does it bring up fond memories?

Does it make you salivate?

I know this can sound really weird,

but we have to pay attention
to all of these things

and hopefully by doing that, it'll bring

us back to the present.

And the seventh and final
option I'm gonna talk about

goes back to our sense of touch,

and this is creating a sensory bowl.

You can place various items into it,

things like sand, or
marbles, different shapes

and sizes of beads, raw pasta shells,

fidget toys, coins, you name it.

Whatever has a different
texture, temperature,

et cetera, 'cause you know how metals

can be a little colder than things

that aren't metal?

Just throwin' that out there.

You can add it in there and use it

to keep you grounded.

I've had clients who keep
theirs in Tupperware containers

so they put the lid on it,
and they bring it with them

to therapy, or on vacation,
or wherever they need it.

So make sure that yours
can travel with you,

or have a travel one, and then one

that stays at home or at
your therapist's office.

Those can be really, really helpful

to have different textures and things

you can just feel around
in when you're really

struggling to stay present.

And again, just remember
that staying grounded

and present is vital to
our recovery from trauma,

and can even help us better manage

our anxiety or any overwhelming feeling.

This video has been brought to you by

the Kinions on Patreon.

If you would like to support the creation

of these mental health videos,

click the link in the
description and check it out.

And I hope these grounding techniques

can help you better manage
what you may be going through.

But as always, what do
you do to stay grounded?

Are there other tools and techniques

I didn't mention?

Please share those in
the comments down below

and I will see you next time, bye.

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