Grounding techniques help you to distance yourself from an emotional experience. When you accidentally remember a distressing experience, your brain instinctively and involuntarily engages the “fight or flight” response. In a genuinely dangerous situation, this response keeps you safe by preparing you to escape from danger or to fight it; however, sometimes, as with upsetting memories, the danger your brain is trying to protect you from is not a here and now threat. Grounding techniques can help calm your body so that it “knows” that there isn’t an actual threat present.
This PDF download teaches 3 simple grounding techniques that you can do anytime, anywhere, whenever you notice your body feeling stressed or tense.