Spring Grounding
Feeling Distracted?
Sometimes when we are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, we can get caught up in the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that we are experiencing in our minds and bodies. Thoughts about what happened in the past or what will happen in the future start swirling in our heads. Maybe you are having regrets about something you did or said, maybe you aren’t sure how to handle a situation with a friend, maybe you are worried about test results, maybe you aren’t sure how you are going to make ends meet, maybe you are caught up in a never-ending to-do list. Your body responds to these thoughts physically, with things like muscle tension, increased blood pressure, upset stomach, and emotionally. You find yourself feeling stressed, sad, angry, frustrated, helpless. These thoughts, physical sensations, and emotions are distracting and often pull us away from what is happening right now, in this moment. You find it harder to pay attention to what someone is telling you, you realize you missed your exit on the highway, your spoon hits the bottom of the pint of Ben & Jerry’s and you barely remember tasting any of it. The spring flowers bloom and the grass literally gets greener and you look right past it. The birds are singing their songs but it fades into your background. The scent of the lilacs, magnolias, and hyacinths fill the air and you don’t notice.
What’s Grounding?
As we cope with the stressors and unknowns of this spring season, we can also use the beauty of the season to help us come back to the present moment, to focus our attention on what is happening right now. Grounding is a technique that can help you do that. The point of grounding is to get out of the whirlwind in your head and into the reality of the present moment. By doing this, all of the swirling thoughts start to settle. Once the thoughts settle, the emotions and physical sensations follow, allowing your body to calm. Our nervous systems get a break and a chance to reset. The stressors and unknowns are still there, but now you remember that there is more going on than just the stress. You can take a moment to appreciate the present moment and then you can move forward with more resources to cope with the factors that are causing the whirlwind. There are several different ways you can practice grounding, one is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique.
Use your 5 senses
Your 5 senses are what allow you to experience the world as it is at any given moment. By calling on them to remind you of the here and now, you can start to come out of the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. To ground with your 5 senses, take a minute to stop and name 5 things that you see. You might lucky enough to see the bright yellow of forsythia, the soft pastels of tulips, pink cherry blossoms, a blue sky, and green grass. Next, name 4 things you can touch. This could be the soft texture of your clothes, the tickle of blades of grass, a fuzzy dandelion or the soft catkins of a pussy willow. Then name 3 things you can hear. Can you hear birds chirping? The rustle of wind blowing through the trees? Children playing? Now name 2 things you can smell, like a fragrant lilac and the spring air. Finally, find one thing you can taste - a sweet sip of warm tea.
Your environment in this moment might not be as idyllic. Thats ok. You might only see your phone, a blank wall, a pile of laundry to fold, the chair you are sitting on, and crumbs scattered across your floor. If that is where you are, that is where you are. Just noticing those things bring you back to the physical environment of this moment and out of your head. You can do this anywhere, any time you need or want to take a break from the whirlwind and reset before moving forward.
This exercise doesn’t take long at all and can have a dramatic impact on your mood and your day. I hope you can find some time today to ground and find a moment of peace.
