Grounding
Going along with my post from Tuesday “What are Panic Attacks” I decided to write up a post to go along with it. This piece is about grounding. This is a technique I was taught and have taught others to use. It’s very common and a lot of phyciatrist recommend it to their pactients. It’s very common, but in case you do not know what it is, continue reading.
Grounding is a very easy concept, but when in a panic attack it can be hard to do sometimes if you do not do it in it’s entirety. The goal of grounding is to help center your thoughts. When panicking your brain starts to be overwhelmed with distorted thoughts, usually these are unrealistic thoughts have gotten too out of control causing you to panic. Grounding will help bring your brain back to reality.
Describe, describe, describe. That’s the key. Find objects around you, physical object, and start describing them. Usually it helps to describe them out loud if you are able. Remember, keep your descriptions factual. Colors, shape, and texture are all good things to describe.
Use this picture for example, this is what might be on your desk while in class. If you are panicking and happen to be in class, start with describing things you can also possibly touch.
There are four things in this photo, notebook,folder, pen, and pencil case.
Starting with colors, I see red, black, purple, and white.
The notebook is flat. The notebook is rectangular. The notebook has a silver spiral. The folder is flat and it’s rectangular. The pen is thin. The pen is see-through, with black ink. The pencil case has a Chevron pattern, with black, purple, and white colors. It has a black zipper. It’s is spherical.
You can continue to do this with items in the vicinity you are in. You can also tough things, describing if they are hot or cold, rough or soft.
The key is you keep doing this in order to push the distorted thoughts out. These physical, actual things should help you come back to present. I would recommend doing this as soon as you being to feel feelings of panic. The more panicked you are the harder it might be to force yourself to study the things around you.
