Grounding with Touch

As mentioned previously, grounding skills are strategies to help you connect to the reality of the here-and-now when you are feeling disconnected from yourself, your body, your thoughts, your present reality/safety, etc.

In other words, these skills are really helpful in getting you out of dissociated states.

Touch is an important grounding skill and is available to you at all times. One way to ground with touch one thing in your space, maybe something you’re wearing or sitting on.

This isn’t simply a casual touch; we want to be mindful and really focus on what you are touching.

Focus by trying to describing what you’re feeling (out loud or in your head) as though to someone who’s never felt it. 

What is the texture like? The temperature? Is it soft or jagged? Are there edges you can feel? Is it squishy or firm?

Then touch a different thing, and again describe it to yourself and then you can even compare and contrast the two things you’ve touched.

Being able to ground yourself back in your body & in the present moment will help you re-regulate your nervous system.

The more you practice these skills, the more easily they will come. I highly recommend practicing them when the triggers are rather small or moderate, so that you are not trying something new when a big one hits.

And remember, you need to find what works for you and your nervous system, so if grounding by touch is not it, that’s okay, we’ll be going over other ways to ground yourself in future posts.