Grounding with Touch

Grounding skills help reorient a person to the present to the here-and-now. They are vitals tools to have when you deal with anxiety, flashbacks and dissociation.

Touch is a very important grounding skill and is pretty much available to you at all times. One way to ground is to touch one thing in the room, maybe what you are wearing and really focus on trying to describe it to yourself, as though describing it to someone who has never seen what you are feeling before. Then touch a different thing, again noticing it and describing it to yourself and then noting and describing the difference between the two objects.

One very powerful way to ground with touch is by going outside, taking off your shoes and connecting with the literal ground. Stand on this earth, in this moment and just notice what you feel. Notice the ground beneath your feet and how it supports you. Scrunch your toes and notice how that feels different than when they are relaxed. Feel the weather on your skin, is it hot or cold? Is there a wind? Rain?

Pets are another incredibly useful grounding companion. I have dogs, so I will use them as examples. Pet the dog, notice and pay attention to the difference in how the hair feels on their ears compared to their back, compared to their belly skin. Hold your pet and feel their weight and let it comfort you.