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- Hey everybody, today we're gonna talk

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about grounding techniques
and how to use them.

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But before we jump into this topic,

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are you new to my channel?

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Welcome, I release videos on Mondays

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and on Thursdays, so make
sure you're subscribed

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and have your notifications turned on

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so that you don't miss out.

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

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I know I mention it all the time,

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

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taken the time to define it.

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So grounding is a technique that helps

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keep someone in the present,
instead of dissociating,

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spacing out, or shutting down.

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These techniques can
help reorient a person

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to the here and now, and in reality.

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Grounding skills can be helpful

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in managing overwhelming
feelings or intense anxiety,

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and I created a video
about grounding techniques

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

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that in the description
if you wanna learn more.

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The most common grounding techniques

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I've talked about are
snapping rubber bands

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on your arm, using fidget toys,

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

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and I know that many of you have said

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that you have a history of self injury

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and snapping rubber bands can lead

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to more urges to self
harm, also fidget toys

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don't work for everybody,
and counting colors

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can help once, but then what do we do?

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Well thanks to fellow Kinion Sarah,

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who got some help from
her therapist Rebecca

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and her clinical pain coordinator Jenny,

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she shared some more
ideas that will hopefully

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help you stay present and
grounded when you need to.

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

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we do need to be grounded and present

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whenever we're doing trauma work,

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

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

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So all the work that
we may be trying to do

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in therapy or EMDR just
isn't really helping,

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

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

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

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while practicing your yoga breathing.

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

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that you breathe in for
three to four seconds,

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hold it at the top, and breathe out

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for four to five seconds, and then pause,

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and do it again.

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It's kind of breaking
our breathing into chunks

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versus just mindlessly
breathing in and out.

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And yoga breathing helps
us to calm our system down

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and focus our energy into our breath,

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kinda like meditation right?

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And how the breath moves through our body,

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paying attention to that
can be really important.

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And you should also keep your eyes closed

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

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And last, leave your judgment at the door.

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There is no room for
judgment about how well

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

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all you have to do is try.

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Okay, now let's get into them.

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Number one, clapping our hands,

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so that you can feel the
sensation of that clap,

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as it moves through your fingertips,

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

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Notice the tingling
sensation this creates,

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and even pay attention
to how long it lasts.

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How long do you feel it
as your eyes are closed

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and you're experiencing this sensation?

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

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So all those tingles that you maybe felt

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aren't there anymore.

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This can keep you in the here and now,

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and by initiating this intense sensation,

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right, clapping, we
could clap pretty hard,

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hopefully it can pull you back out of

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a potential flashback, dissociation,

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or urge to shut down.

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Number two, stomping your feet

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and feeling that sensation, again,

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like in your hands, you're going through

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your tips of your toes, all the way

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through your toes into your feet,

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

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I know certain areas in our body

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can be easier to focus on than others,

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so picking one that isn't
so emotionally charged,

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or even attached to your self injury,

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if you struggle with that, is best.

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And just like the clapping option,

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make sure you wait until the sensation

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has left to notice where
that tingly feeling

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traveled in your body,
and then open your eyes.

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Number three, rubbing your hands together.

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I know this sounds kinda weird,

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but you can feel the warmth that builds up

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between them as you rub them together,

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and feel the heat move from your hands,

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

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are all warmed up, you
place them on your legs

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or your arms and you
feel that heat sensation

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move through you.

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And again, just like the others,

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wait until it's completely
gone to regain your focus

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by opening your eyes and looking back

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at your therapist or whatever it is

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you were working on.

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Number four, using a worry stone

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or silly putty to move
around in your hand.

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Close your eyes and feel its temperature,

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texture, and its firmness.

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You may wanna keep these things with you

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when you're going to therapy or going in

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to some situation that may be stressful.

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You can play with it in your pocket,

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and it can help keep you present

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and more calm while you go about your day.

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Remember though, you
need to focus your energy

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onto that one object and
try to take mental notes

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about how it feels, what
you feel in your body

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

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That's what makes it
a grounding technique.

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

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Essential oils can help with this a lot.

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You can keep them in a
rollerball applicator,

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

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

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even at Whole Foods,
or have an oil diffuser

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

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Smells like citrus, lavender, jasmine,

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

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are all known to help us focus.

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So keeping these scents with you

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and closing your eyes while you smell it,

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maybe notice how it makes you feel,

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is it a strong smell?

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Does it remind you of a calming place,

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or perhaps a happy memory?

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Pay attention to that
scent, and notice how long

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you can smell it, even though you maybe

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already put the oil away.

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Just like we'd wait to open our eyes

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until that tingly sensation from clapping

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or stomping goes away, do the same

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with the oil, wait until that scent

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is completely gone before we
open our eyes and reengage.

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

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Now I know this can be
harder for those of us

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who struggle with eating disorders,

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

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that help you most and
work for you specifically.

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

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ginger chews or tea, or even gum.

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Notice the texture and the taste.

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Does it tingle on your tongue?

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Pay attention to how long you taste it.

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Is it spicy?

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Salty?

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Sweet?

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Does it bring up fond memories?

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Does it make you salivate?

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I know this can sound really weird,

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but we have to pay attention
to all of these things

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and hopefully by doing that, it'll bring

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us back to the present.

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

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goes back to our sense of touch,

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and this is creating a sensory bowl.

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You can place various items into it,

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things like sand, or
marbles, different shapes

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and sizes of beads, raw pasta shells,

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fidget toys, coins, you name it.

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Whatever has a different
texture, temperature,

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et cetera, 'cause you know how metals

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can be a little colder than things

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that aren't metal?

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Just throwin' that out there.

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You can add it in there and use it

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to keep you grounded.

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I've had clients who keep
theirs in Tupperware containers

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

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

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So make sure that yours
can travel with you,

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or have a travel one, and then one

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

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Those can be really, really helpful

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to have different textures and things

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you can just feel around
in when you're really

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struggling to stay present.

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And again, just remember
that staying grounded

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and present is vital to
our recovery from trauma,

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and can even help us better manage

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our anxiety or any overwhelming feeling.

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This video has been brought to you by

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the Kinions on Patreon.

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If you would like to support the creation

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of these mental health videos,

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click the link in the
description and check it out.

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And I hope these grounding techniques

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

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

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Are there other tools and techniques

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I didn't mention?

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Please share those in
the comments down below

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and I will see you next time, bye.

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(upbeat music)