How to Ground Yourself During Heightened Anxiety

Feeling the overwhelming, suffocating, stomach-twisting anxiety can be difficult to calm down. But, by knowing how to ground yourself, you can calm your anxieties.

• Focus on your breathing. One of the most important steps to grounding yourself is to calm your breathing, especially if you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack. By listening to your breathing, you can steady it by counting as you inhale and exhale. Based on what you’re comfortable with, you can adapt how long you inhale and exhale. Trying inhaling then counting up to five to yourself, then slowly exhale while counting back down to one. If you have someone with you, they can also do this technique with you or count for you to provide support and guidance.
• Involve your senses. Just how counting while you breathe can help, so can using all five of your senses to distract your mind: sight, touch, hear, smell and taste. Say out loud something you see; appropriately touch a surface to feel the texture on your fingertips; listen to your surroundings; breathe in to smell what’s around you; and finally, pinpoint the taste in your mouth.
• Exercise. When going for a short walk around the block or a run on your favorite trail, your anxiety lessens because your body is releasing its tension. Plus, breathing in fresh air is comforting and healthy for your body and emotional well-being.
• Find a focal point. No matter where you’re at, find something that catches your eye. Internally, describe what it looks like, its texture, its weight, its purpose, its longevity, etc. By understanding another object, your mind can be released of its anxiety and only focus on the object in front of you.
• Talk to a therapist. You may have reoccurring anxieties that are becoming more difficult to subside. By talking about your anxieties – when, where and how it happens – your therapist can understand what’s causing it, as well as coping mechanisms that have been professionally proven to work.

If you need help dealing with anxiety, contact Mercy’s EAP services at (319) 398-6575.

Photo: ©iStock.com/PeopleImages