Sitting in my office, my client looked out my small window while reliving every moment of her past traumatic experience before my eyes. As she told her story I noticed all five senses coming into play.
Her eye sight reflected fear as she remembered the memories of pain inflicting her. The piercing sounds she recalled rung in her ears while she shivered from memory. As she curled up her fingers into a fist, she recalled the inappropriate touch which led to a bile taste in her mouth. Lastly as we went on this journey together, I asked her to recall specifically the smell she remembered of this traumatic experience in her life, which she reported as potent.
Trauma is the result of extremely nerve-wracking events that shatter your sense of security, creating feelings of helpless in a dangerous world.
Healing from trauma is a different experience for everyone. Those who have experienced trauma have reported feeling disconnected, withdrawn, and struggle with the haunting memories from the past.
Trauma disrupts your body’s state of equilibrium, immobilizing your senses by creating hyper-arousal and fear.
The grounding technique is a first step in the healing process, as it uses your five senses to replace those that were over taken by trauma.
How it works
Grounding techniques frequently utilize the five senses—sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight—to closely unite you with the here and now. For example, singing or humming a tune, rubbing lotion on your body, or drinking a cold beverage are all grounding techniques that create sensations that are hard to disregard or distract you from the thoughts in your mind. This helps you immediately connect with the present moment. At a similar time, grounding decreases the probability that you will slip into a traumatic flashback or dissociation. What may work for one person may prompt anxiety or flashback memories in another. One may want to do some trial and error beforehand so you can figure out what grounding techniques work best for you.
If you observe that your mind may be slipping into a traumatic flashback or a dissociative state, try some of these five sense grounding techniques:
Sound:
- Focus on the ticking clock on the wall
- Listen to hear your own breath
- Blast your favorite song
- Read a book out loud
Touch:
- Run your hands through hot or cold water
- Pop some bubble wrap
- Feel the texture of a piece of furniture
- Hold and let an ice cube melt in your hands
Sight:
- Put on your favorite movie/tv show
- Read a book
- Picture a serene scene in your head
- Look at what is around you in your environment
- Complete a puzzle
Smell
- Put some essential oils (peppermint, lavender, citrus) onto a cotton ball and keep it near you
- Light a scented candle
- Pick some fresh flowers
Taste:
- Suck on your favorite candy
- Eat something sour and then sweet
- Eat a piece of dark chocolate
- Drink your favorite beverage
The pleasant thing about utilizing grounding techniques as a coping mechanism is that much of these techniques can be done in any environment without anyone knowing.