The Effect of Grounding on Your Well-Being
Do you sometimes notice your are feeling a little ‘on edge’ or restless as you go about your day? Or perhaps you spent a day feeling disconnected and simply going through the motions? If this sounds familiar, it might be that you weren’t grounded during these times. Being grounded simply means being in a state when your body and mind are connected and you are living fully in the moment. This is the ideal state of being and the place we want to remain in much as possible in our everyday lives since there are many benefits from being truly in the present in the here and now.
Some benefits of being grounded is having more self awareness, a reduction in stress, an elevated mood and sense of well-being, being calmer and therefore more able to respond rather than react from emotion, improved energy and vitality, as well as to feel connected to others - to just name a few. You will be aware that you are grounded when you are not controlled by your emotional landscape but rather generally feel calm and centered. I have personally found that having strategies to help ground myself throughout the day is a gateway to accessing my true self. From this place we can honestly listen to our thoughts, feelings, and needs and understand when we have been influenced by other voices.
Grounding techniques basically act as anchors to bring you back to the present moment. When grounded our energy and focus is downward, toward our body and the literal ground, or earth. When we are disconnected, or not grounded in our bodies, our energy and focus is upward, away from the ground and our body. The act of grounding is literally “a felt sense of connection to the ground”.
We can ground ourselves through focusing on the physical body, the immediate environment, or using affirming self-talk. It’s important to grow awareness for moments when you are disconnected from your body and have a few go-to grounding techniques that work well for you in order to return to the present moment. Although not always possible, we ideally want to live life in the ‘here and now. Here are some techniques you can try to help connect your mind and body, and feel more centered:
- Focus on taking slow, deep breaths in through the nose to the count of 4 and exhale out through the mouth to the count of 5 sending your attention inward.
- Give yourself a compassionate hug.
- Clench your feet and toes into a tight ball and then release. Focus on the relaxing of the muscles.
- Spend unplugged and undistracted time in nature.
- Run your wrists under cold water from the faucet.
- Hold your breath and dip your face in a bowl of ice water.
- Use your five senses to describe your immediate environment in detail. Notice what you can see, smell, touch, hear, or taste.
- Suck on a piece of sour candy.
- Hold a mug of warm tea and slowly sip, savoring each sip.
- Get up and walk outside feeling either the sun or air on your skin. Try walking barefoot in grass. This is one of my personal favorites.
- Come up with coping statements that help you self-soothe, such as “this feeling will not last forever and shall pass.”
It's important to note that while grounding shows promise as a potential complementary practice for improving mood and overall well-being, it should not be considered a standalone treatment for medical or psychological conditions. Research on grounding is still in its early stages, and more scientific studies are needed to establish its efficacy and mechanisms of action fully.
