Grounding Techniques to Use During the Summer Season
The summer season is upon us!
That might mean more time with family and friends; more time by the pool, on hiking trails, or in the car on road trips. For some, it may mean more time indoors due to the heat.
Along with the rising temperatures the summer season brings, you may find your own “temperature” barometer increasing. This may be due to packed weekly schedules (most of us don’t get a summer break!), the stress of planning family vacations, or the 90-degree-plus weather.
Regardless of why you may lose your cool in these hot months, there are always ways to re-center yourself and return to the present moment - also known as “grounding”.
What is “Grounding” and Why Practice It?
Grounding is the practice of re-orienting oneself to the current, here-and-now moment when feeling like your mind is going 100 different directions all at once.
When we become overwhelmed with the day’s tasks that lie ahead, quickly annoyed by the slightest inconvenience, or stuck ruminating about something we said the week before, we often have a difficult time pulling ourselves out of those troubling thoughts and feelings. When we can remember to ground ourselves, we can interrupt those thoughts and emotions that drag us back into the past or transport us into the future. Remember: we cannot control those around us when we’re overwhelmed, we can only control ourselves. In the wise words of Frozen’s summer-loving snowman, Olaf: “We’re calling this ‘controlling what you can when things feel out of control’”.
Grounding exercises can help reduce anxiety, unwanted thoughts, and stress and help improve depression, PTSD symptoms, and overall well-being (Raypole, 2024).
Grounding techinques
The following grounding techniques are just a few out of many. Feel free to pick and choose one or all of them to try. To see whether any of the below techniques are helpful to you, it may be beneficial to ask yourself “How am I feeling right now on a scale of 1 - 10”, with 1 being the worst you’ve ever felt and 10 being the best you’ve ever felt. Depending on your answers, you may find one grounding exercise more helpful than another.
Change your temperature
When we get overwhelmed, angry, or overstimulated, our body can heat up and our temperature increases. Here are a few ways to bring your temperature back from the “boiling” point so you can address the triggering situation more calmly and clearly.
Take a cold shower
Go for a swim
Take a cold pack or a few ice cubes wrapped in paper towels and hold them in your hands. Gently place them on your wrists, forehead, under the eyes, and/or the back of the neck for a few seconds.
Fill a bowl with water and ice and “dunk” your face into the bowl for 10 to 30 seconds (DBT Tools, 2024)
If you’re outside, find some shade to sit under for a few minutes; drink cold water
2. Use your five senses
Another way to ground is to use all five of your senses. The “5-4-3-2-1” method is an easy-to-remember grounding exercise that you can use indoors and outdoors:
First, find 5 items around you that you can see. Focus your attention on these items. How do they look objectively? If you catch yourself judging (that’s an ugly clock) that’s okay! But try to return to the room or the scene around you. Notice the shapes (the clock is circular) and the colors of objects (the grass is green).
Next, find 4 things around or on you that you can touch. Feel the items with your hands. Notice the texture of each item without judgment (this tree trunk feels rough)
Then, listen for 3 different sounds close to or far away from you (the cars passing by, the buzz of a bee, the crunch of a footstep).
After listening, try to find 2 things around you to smell. Notice the scent. Focus on each. Can you describe each scent? (fresh air, flowers, a candle).
Finally, find 1 thing (that’s edible!) that you can taste. Focus on the taste - is it sweet? Sour? Spicy? Does the item lack taste? Notice the absence of taste if this is the case.
3. Mindful Walking
Gentle body movement is a great way to help work through difficult emotions and calm oneself. One way to move one's body gently could be walking mindfully.
How does one walk mindfully, what does that mean?
First, let’s define mindfulness. John Kabat-Zinn (2016), the creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, defines mindfulness as “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, nonjudgmentally.” Essentially, this means paying attention to what comes up at any given moment, whether in our minds/internally or externally, without being critical or judgmental.
So if you find yourself out on a hiking trail or just walking around the block during this warm, summer season, try out the following exercise and see how it works for you!
Before starting your walk, take a mental (or physical) note of how you feel in your body and mind. What is your mood like? Are you tense? Relaxed? Hot? Cold?
Once you start your walk, walk slowly and intentionally. Notice each step - from heel to toe. How do your feet feel in your shoes? Do you notice which leg muscles are being activated? What about your arms and legs and torso?
As you walk, take in the sights, textures, sounds, and smells around you (perhaps use the 5-4-3-2-1 method!).
Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep paying attention to your breath as you walk. Do you notice that it changes? How does the breath feel coming into your body versus going out?
Keep coming back to the present moment, the feeling of walking, and the environment around you. Take it all in and enjoy!
Final thoughts
There are so many different ways to ground yourself that they couldn’t all possibly fit in one blog post. Feel free to make the above techniques your own, personalizing them to you and your situation. If they work for you - great! If you find that they aren’t for you - also great! Now you know what grounding techniques aren’t the best fit and you can now move on to the next exercise! What works for one person may not work for the next, and that’s okay!
Wishing you all a cool, fun summer season!
Blog Sources:
American Psychological Association. (2023). Activity 6.1 mindful walking. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/activities/activity-mindful-walking.pdf
Bertin, M. (2023, March 28). A guided walking meditation for daily life. Mindful. https://www.mindful.org/daily-mindful-walking-practice/
DBT Tools. (2024). TIP skill. https://dbt.tools/distress_tolerance/tip.php
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2016, July 1). Mindfulness for beginners: Reclaiming the present moment and your life. Sounds True.
Raypole, C. (2024, January 29). 30 grounding techniques to quiet distressing thoughts. Healthline.https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques
University of New Hampshire. (n.d.). What is grounding.
Disclaimer: This website is intended for a general audience, for educational and informational purposes only. Visiting the website/blog and viewing its content does not create a therapist/patient relationship between visitors, our therapists, our employees, or Coalta Therapy and Wellness L.L.C. The information on this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, therapy or psychological advice. We are not able to answer questions regarding your specific situation or relationship. Please remember that if you are a current or former patient, your comments or likes may jeopardize your confidentiality. Make sure you consult your physician or mental health provider regarding advice or support for your personal health and wellbeing. If you are in crisis, call your local 24-hour hotline or 911.
