🌿 Help! My Anxiety is Out of Control!
Easy Grounding Techniques to Restore Calm When Anxiety Takes Over
This week I had several clients report that they were having a hard time coping with their anxiety. I took them through a few easy-to-use exercises that help ease anxiety and help restore a sense of calm.
We’ve all had moments when our body feels on high alert — your heart races, your breathing quickens, and suddenly you’re not fully “here.”
Grounding exercises can help relieve that out-of-control feeling and restore a sense of calm
Maybe something triggered a painful memory or an unexpected stressor caught you off guard.
Whether it’s a panic response, grief, or simply the cumulative weight of a difficult week, these moments can make you feel unsafe in your own body.
The good news is that there are practical, evidence-based ways to help your mind and body return to the present moment.
This process is called grounding.
Grounding techniques are simple tools that help you reestablish a sense of safety when anxiety, stress, or trauma responses take over.
Think of grounding as an anchor. It doesn’t erase the storm, but it keeps you steady while it passes.
Below are several grounding strategies that I give to my clients to help them find a sense of calm and control.
🌿 Grounding Techniques for Anxiety, Panic, or Trauma Triggers
Purpose:
Grounding helps reconnect you to the present moment when you feel emotionally overwhelmed, anxious, or unsafe. It reduces physiological arousal (like racing heart, dizziness, or tightness) and reminds your body and brain that you are in the here and now and not in danger.
Grounding works best when practiced regularly, not just during crises. The following are categories and examples you can personalize to what works best for you.
🖐 1. Sensory Grounding (The 5–4–3–2–1 Technique)
Use your five senses to anchor yourself to your environment. Say or think:
5 things you can see — name them slowly (“the light through the window,” “a plant,” “my shoes”).
4 things you can touch — feel textures (“my chair,” “my sleeve,” “the floor under my feet”).
3 things you can hear — ambient sounds (“cars outside,” “my breathing,” “the hum of a fridge”).
2 things you can smell — notice scents around you (coffee, soap, air).
1 thing you can taste — chew gum or take a sip of water.
👉 Why it works: This engages the brain’s prefrontal cortex, grounding your body in present sensory input rather than trauma memories or fear-based thoughts.
Breathing exercises help regulate the vagus nerve, reduce cortisol, and shift the body from “fight/flight” to “rest/digest.”
🌬 2. Breath-Based Grounding
Use your breath to lower physiological arousal and signal safety to your nervous system.
Try:
Box Breathing (4-4-4-4): Inhale 4 counts → Hold 4 → Exhale 4 → Hold 4.
4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale 4 counts → Hold 7 → Exhale 8 slowly.
Counting Breaths: Count “1” on the inhale, “2” on the exhale up to 10, then restart.
👉 Why it works: Regulates the vagus nerve, reduces cortisol, and shifts the body from “fight/flight” to “rest/digest.”
🧘 3. Physical Grounding
Connect to the safety of your body and physical environment:
Feel your feet on the ground and notice the floor supporting you.
Press your palms together and notice warmth or pressure.
Stretch or shake out your arms and legs to release adrenaline.
Place a weighted blanket or pillow on your lap or chest.
Take a short walk and notice your footsteps.
👉 Why it works: Physical movement and pressure cues signal to your brain that you’re not immobilized or trapped.
🪞 4. Cognitive Grounding
Reorient your thinking away from catastrophic or intrusive thoughts.
Say to yourself:
“I am safe in this moment.”
“This feeling will pass.”
“I’ve survived hard things before, and I can again.”Name 3 facts about your environment (“It’s Tuesday. I’m in my apartment. The window is open.”).
Identify one next small action (e.g., text a friend, drink water, take 3 deep breaths).
👉 Why it works: This restores reality-testing, reduces catastrophic thinking, and increases control.
💬 5. Connection-Based Grounding
Isolation can amplify fear. Reach out for small, regulating interactions:
Call or text a trusted person.
Pet your dog/cat/hamster or hold something comforting.
Visualize someone who makes you feel safe and recall what they would say to you.
👉 Why it works: Social contact activates oxytocin, which dampens the stress response and restores emotional equilibrium.