Grounding when out and about
Some of us don’t want others to know that we’re struggling. We wouldn’t feel comfortable stood at a checkout fiddling with a fidget toy. The good news is that there are grounding techniques that we can use discretely when out and about.
When grounding, thinking about our senses is often a good place to start. As well as taste, texture, smell, sound and sight, there are three senses that many of us will never have heard of. Our system is about our body movements, proprioception is the sense of where our body parts are at any given time, and interoception describes our awareness of basic functions such as hunger, thirst, or needing the toilet.
If we’re walking down the street and feel our anxiety starting to rise, then focusing on the rhythm of our steps and counting them as we go can help. It taps into both our vestibular system and proprioception. Sometimes mentally chanting affirmations while we walk can help us to connect with the rhythm of our footsteps, too.
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