Greetings all!
All of us feel overwhelmed at times. So how can we cope with the anxious thoughts and emotions? I recently was listening to Daily Jay on CALM (read my post about CALM meditation app HERE), and I loved the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique he mentioned so I read up on it.
InsightTimer blog summarized it nicely, “Anxious thoughts … may feel objectively threatening, but are nothing more than electrochemical flutters in the brain, skipping right over the present moment and dwelling on past regrets or future fears. If we are being steamrolled by thoughts, we disconnect from the present and get carried away, like a small boat being tossed on choppy waves… There is only one way to reconnect to the present: through the body. The body can only ever be in one place, and that’s the here-and-now.”
Isn’t it interesting how our thoughts are usually disconnected from our body – we have regrets about the past and concerns about the future – but what about here and now, this very moment that is happening regardless of where our mind is?
The 5-4-3-2-1 technique
can help us get to the “here-and-now”! Start with focusing on your breach, then
focus on your surroundings and your senses. As I am typing this post, I can see,
hear, and touch my keyboard, and I can smell and taste my coffee – these are
my anchors to the present moment!
Sources:
- https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/destress-monday/unwind-monday-5-4-3-2-1-grounding-technique
- https://insighttimer.com/blog/54321-grounding-technique/
Drop me a line! Stay grounded!
