Grounding Techniques for Anxiety (2024)

Anxiety can leave anyone feeling overwhelmed and out of control. In these moments, grounding techniques for anxiety help you regain your sense of calm and navigate distress by bringing you back to the present moment and providing a sense of stability.

What are grounding techniques?

Grounding techniques for anxiety help you stay in the present moment during intense emotions. Exercises like deep breathing, focusing on your senses, or naming your emotions shift attention away from distressing thoughts and feelings and anchor you in the here and now. Over time, grounding techniques can help you respond more thoughtfully and calmly instead of reacting out of habit.

“These practices are especially helpful for anxiety because they address the body’s fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response,” said Jamie Hanley, MS, LPC, an expert in holistic treatment approaches and a therapist with Lyra Health. These are automatic reactions to perceived threats. “Fight” confronts the threat aggressively, “flight” escapes from it, “freeze” is a temporary paralysis or inability to act, and “fawn” appeases the threat to avoid conflict. “Recognizing the sensations of anxiety allows you to pause, get grounded, and respond in a more composed and less reactive way,” said Hanley.

8 grounding techniques for anxiety

So, how can you calm your nervous system and regain control? Here are some simple but effective physical and mental grounding exercises for anxiety:

#1 Connect to the ground

Bring awareness to where your body physically connects to the ground. If you’re standing, bring attention to the soles of your feet. If you’re lying down, notice where your back connects to the ground, or your seat in a chair. “This simple focus helps you feel more stable and present. Physical awareness within the body can help regulate your nervous system,” said Hanley.

#2 Breathe from your diaphragm

Breathing from your diaphragm also helps regulate the nervous system. “The vagus nerve is the switch for our parasympathetic nervous system and runs through the diaphragm — so diaphragmatic breathing facilitates the relaxation response,” said Hanley. “Place one or both hands on your abdomen and take deep breaths, feeling your belly rise and fall. This reduces shallow breathing associated with anxiety and provides a sense of calm.”

#3 Use 4-7-8 breathing

Controlled breathing or counting breaths helps reduce anxiety by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers heart rate and promotes a state of calm. Box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing are two of these techniques. Box breathing involves inhaling for four seconds, holding the breath for four seconds, exhaling for four seconds, and then pausing for four seconds before repeating the cycle. To use 4-7-8 breathing, inhale to the count of four, hold for seven, and exhale for eight. Counting, breathing, pausing, holding, and that long exhale can calm you. If holding your breath is uncomfortable, simply inhale for four counts and exhale for eight.

#4 Pay attention to your senses

The five senses grounding technique involves focusing on the present moment by identifying five things you see, four things you touch, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. This could be as simple as applying your favorite lotion or smelling an essential oil. “Olfactory senses are very powerful when communicating with the nervous system,” said Hanley. “Other sensory techniques include listening to the sounds of nature, cold showers, weighted blankets, or big hugs. Experiment with different sensory inputs to see what works best for you.”

#5 Sigh mindfully

Have you ever noticed when a heavy sigh seems to come out of nowhere? Sometimes, a sigh is the body’s way of resetting itself. “The sigh is a natural way for our nervous system to reset,” Hanley noted. “Try incorporating long, audible sighs into your breathing practice to help release tension and calm your mind.”

#6 Check the facts

To mentally ground yourself and correct distorted thinking, get clear on what’s really happening rather than how you’re interpreting it. Paying attention to just “the facts” helps you see things more objectively and reduces the tendency to catastrophize, which increases anxiety.

#7 Name and validate emotions

Identifying and naming your emotions is a powerful grounding exercise for anxiety. By acknowledging what you’re feeling, you validate your experience, which can help reduce the intensity of your emotions. “Simply being mindful of and noticing the emotion can be a game-changer when you’re physically and mentally escalated,” advised Hanley.

#8 Recognize thinking traps

Thinking traps like all-or-nothing thinking (“I must be perfect in everything”) or overgeneralizing after one setback (“I’ll never succeed at anything”) only amplify anxiety. Recognizing and challenging these traps can help you break free from negative thought patterns. “Being aware of thinking traps helps you recognize how you may be making things harder on yourself, and that there are alternative perspectives,” said Hanley.

When to use grounding techniques for anxiety

Grounding techniques for anxiety can help with minor, everyday stressors like work deadlines or traffic jams, as well as significant distress like panic attacks, obsessive thinking, or dissociation. When you notice your body reacting—like experiencing shortness of breath or spiraling thoughts—it’s a signal to use grounding exercises for anxiety. “You’re in the ‘red zone,’ where the rational part of your brain shuts off and your responses become primal,” said Hanley. “If you recognize these warning signs, you can use anxiety grounding techniques to bring yourself back to the present moment.”

Grounding techniques for anxiety can also be preventive. Regular practice helps your body become familiar with the process so you can use your skills when you need them. “Finding the right techniques and practicing them regularly will increase your resilience,” said Hanley. “Using these practices in your daily routines prepares you to manage anxiety whenever it arises.”

One of the biggest misconceptions is believing that grounding techniques should work immediately without practice. “The number-one mistake people make is that they only try something once, or they only try one thing,” said Hanley. “It’s essential to explore and practice various grounding exercises regularly, not just when you’re in distress. Just because one thing doesn’t work doesn’t mean nothing will work.”

How to use anxiety grounding techniques daily

You don’t need to carve out extra time in your day to practice this; instead, you can weave grounding techniques for anxiety into activities you already do. “In the shower, feel your feet on the ground, the warmth of the water, and the smell of the soap. Take a few deep breaths.” By pairing grounding techniques for anxiety with daily routines, you create moments to reconnect with the present and your body without adding extra tasks.

It’s important to have a variety of tools—you might need to use more grounding techniques the bigger the situation. For everyday annoyances, simple practices like mindful breathing or feeling your connection to the earth might suffice. “For bigger challenges, layering multiple grounding techniques can be more effective,” said Hanley. “The more you layer and practice these skills—a walk in nature with some deep breathing and listening to your favorite music—the more quickly you self-regulate.”

Grounding techniques as part of overall treatment

Because they provide immediate relief and boost long-term resilience, grounding techniques are a crucial part of comprehensive anxiety management. “People are able to identify anxiety, but don’t necessarily know how to manage it,” said Hanley. “Grounding exercises are accessible and can be easily integrated into daily routines, offering a simple yet effective way to manage anxiety.”

Grounding techniques for anxiety complement other therapeutic approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which focus on changing negative thoughts and behaviors by offering tools to help you stay present and calm when anxiety hits hard. “Grounding techniques fall under the umbrella of mindfulness, which is integral to both CBT and DBT,” said Hanley.

Grounding techniques are also important in trauma treatment to help stay present and regulated when recalling traumatic experiences. This ensures you have practical tools at your disposal, enhancing the overall effectiveness of therapy. “If you don’t learn some of these grounding exercises to help regulate when healing trauma, you may not see the changes in response that you’re hoping for,” said Hanley.

You can loosen anxiety’s grip

During times of high stress, it’s important to remember that the intensity of emotions can and will change. “Emotions are temporary, and learning techniques like grounding exercises can provide life-changing support in navigating anxiety,” said Hanley. “You felt different in the past, and you will feel different again.”

If you find your anxiety is so overwhelming that it’s difficult to take care of usual daily activities, it’s time to seek help. “Experiencing a little bit of anxiety before work, then getting in the shower, grounding yourself, taking a couple of deep breaths, and moving on with your day—that’s manageable anxiety,” said Hanley. “However, if your anxiety is debilitating in that it consumes your thoughts and makes life difficult, it’s a clear sign that professional help is needed.”

Therapy isn’t just for those in crisis—it can provide you with tools to manage anxiety more effectively and enhance your overall well-being. “It’s always OK to seek help, and therapy can be transformative, whether your symptoms are debilitating or you just want to improve your coping strategies,” said Hanley.