Grounding Techniques
Focus on the present to stop over-thinking
Shut down the noise and bring your attention back to the present
When you’re overthinking about the past or worrying about the future, it’s easy to feel like your head is somewhere else and that you’re not present in the room. This makes it hard to feel calm and rational and to perform at your best.
To bring your attention back to the here and now, doing something physical that triggers any of your 5 senses – smell, touch, taste, hearing, seeing – will help bring you back to your body and shut down all of that noise in your head.
What you can do about it
- Try drinking a glass of very cold water and notice how it feels as you swallow.
- Try turning something over in your hand. How does it feel when you move it around? Something like blu tac or a pebble can be good.
- Find something that you like the smell of and breathe it in.
- Whatever works for you, notice and focus on these physical sensations and sit with them for a bit to get back into the room.
