Trauma Coping Skills: Grounding

This post is part of an ongoing series on trauma healing. If you’re stuck in the midst of PTSD, you may sometimes have nightmares, flashbacks, or moments of dissociation. 

Having words to describe what you’re going through can help you make sense of what’s happening to you in these difficult moments. If those words are unfamiliar to you, here’s a quick breakdown of what they each mean:

• Nightmare: A disturbing, scary, unpleasant dream of any kind. 
• Flashback: The experience of finding yourself reliving the trauma, suddenly feeling like you’re back in it. 
• Dissociation: Feeling disconnected from yourself and the world around you. This can show up in many ways- you may feel like you’re really far away, like you’re not yourself, or like what’s happening isn’t real.

Each of these upsetting experiences occurs when the part of your brain that carries out the fight, flight, or freeze response gets activated. Grounding works because it brings other parts of your brain back online. By engaging parts of your brain that are responsible for logical thinking, you can shift back to the present moment. 

Okay, enough with the neuroscience, let’s get to the coping skill! 

Below are some basic grounding exercises. Try these independently or in succession, one after another. Like all skills, it’s best to practice them when you don’t critically need them, so that when you do need them, you feel more prepared to use them.

• Open your eyes and look around you. Name five things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can taste, and one thing you can smell. 
• Take three long deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. 
• Touch the clothing you’re wearing. Describe the texture in your mind or aloud if you can. Name the colors of your clothing in your mind or aloud. 

• Wiggle your fingers and toes. Shake out as much of your body as you can. Check to see if your feet are bare, or if you have socks or shoes on. Count your fingers or toes in your mind or aloud, touching each one as you count if possible. Describe the texture of the ground, your socks, or your shoes to yourself in your mind or aloud. 
• Look around the space you’re in and list in your mind or aloud each of the objects that are red. Then do the same for orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. 
• Say aloud or in your mind where and when you’re currently located. What kind of place is it? What day of the week is it? What is the month? What is the year? 

Grounding can be really helpful in these moments, but I think of it like a momentary band-aid rather than a lasting fix- it doesn’t treat the underlying issue.

These symptoms can wreak havoc on your life. Healing is possible, even if it feels so far away right now.

If this post resonated with you, consider reaching out about treatment for PTSD. 

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