Creative Grounding Exercises

Photo Credit: Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

Grounding exercises are a mental refocusing of attention intended to bring your mind, body, and spirit away from distress and into a state of calm. In this blog, we will talk about the benefits and limitations of grounding exercises, common examples of grounding, and how we can use creativity to ground us.

Benefits of grounding exercises include:

·      Bringing our awareness to the present moment

·      Noticing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations

·      Remembering to breathe

·      Releasing tension

·      Increasing mindfulness

Limits of grounding exercises include:

·      Using grounding as a short-term solution to long-term concerns such as chronic anxiety, PTSD, and panic attacks*

*This is not talked about very often so I think it’s worth unpacking. Grounding exercises are considered short exercises to calm you down in a moment of feeling overwhelmed or panicked. But let’s say you have experienced a trauma and are trying to understand more about the mistreatment you received from a loved one – it can feel infantilizing if your therapist suggests a grounding exercise. Why? A grounding exercise will not necessarily be the most effective intervention here. It might help to create a mindset that prepares you to do this kind of work, but it is not meant to help you understand:

·      Why your loved one may have treated you that way

·      Whether you will ever truly understand why

·      What you can control in the situation

·      Whether you are ready to accept that person in your life or create a boundary

We can find some common examples of grounding exercises in Seeking Safety by Lisa M. Najavits, PhD, who is renowned for her research in PTSD and substance use. In her book, she includes examples of Mental Grounding, Physical Grounding, and Soothing Grounding.

Mental Grounding uses imagination and visuals to create a state of calm. It invites us to get outside of our heads by focusing on our surroundings. This is how a therapist might guide you in this:

“Start by reminding yourself that you are safe. You are in therapy and today is June 10th. The time is 12:37 PM. Now let’s look around the room for colors. Name as many colors as you can. Great! How many chairs are there? Are there curtains? How many windows? Look out the window. How is the weather outside? Are there paintings or posters? Choose one and describe it. How many doors are there? Are the lights fluorescent or yellow?

Physical Grounding focuses on bodily sensations in order to ground us in the present moment. Often you will be asked to draw attention to your breathing or different body parts. Here is an example:

“Notice your feet on the floor. They are literally grounded, connected to the floor. Wiggle your toes inside your shoes. Dig your heels gently into the floor to ground yourself even more. Good. Now touch your chair: Tell me anything about it – what is the material made of? Now touch the desk – what is that made of? Is it colder or warmer than the chair? Now clench your fists, notice the tension in your hands as you do that. Now release your fists. What happened to the tension? Finally, your head around in a circle a few times. Excellent.”

Soothing Grounding is more personalized to things you enjoy, and I find this one the most interesting to engage with:

“Let’s start with your favorite. What is your favorite color? Think of your favorite animal. What animal is it? What is your favorite TV show? Think of a favorite, upbeat song. What are the words? What’s the tune? Now try thinking of a safe place. Maybe the beach, the mountains, a walk in the city, a favorite room, or park? Let yourself notice the place you chose. What are the sights, sounds, colors, textures?”

Artists can practice what we might call Creative Grounding. Creative Grounding would be considered a more mindful version of the work we already do, and can combine tools from the previous examples. Here are some useful guides for a few different mediums:

Dancers

“Notice where you are spotting. What color is your spot? Is there a texture to it? When you make the turn, how do the muscles in your neck feel before, during, and after? What about the muscles in your toes? What sounds occur when your feet slide across the floor? Is it rough or smooth? What type of music is playing? Upbeat or slow? What types of instruments do you hear?”

Writers

“How does the laptop or pencil feel in your hands? What kind of sounds do you hear when you write? Do you write fast or slow? What type of font is on the page? What color is it? What is your favorite thing about your handwriting? Put your attention on your breathing. How fast or slow is your breath as you write?”

Photographers

“How does the camera feel in your hands when you take photos? What is the subject of your photograph? What have you chosen to put in the foreground? What is in the background? What is your favorite detail about this subject? Do you like the colors? What elements of nature are in your photograph, if any? What is your favorite part of the photo?”

As artists, we so often have the tools for our own grounding right in front of us. There are many reasons for stress in our lives, and that can lead to moments of feeling anxious, panicked, or overwhelmed. It can be hard to think of our creativity as something that is also here for our comfort when so many of us are used to working so hard at our art. It is a helpful reminder of why we chose our art forms in the first place, even if it was for as simple a reason as “it feels good.” That is a really important thing to remember! We do this because it makes us feel good. So, why not use it in our mental health toolbox? Try it at home, and leave a comment about your thoughts and experience with this!  

Did this blog fix all your problems? Darn. Let’s talk! I am a licensed psychotherapist in private practice and would love to meet you for a free 30 minute consultation.