Trauma & feeling safe~15 minTrauma-informedSeeking Safety–informed
Grounding skills that work for me
Try mental, physical and soothing grounding and keep a short list of the ones that bring you back to the present.
Why this helps
Grounding pulls your attention out of overwhelming feelings or memories and back to the present. Seeking Safety (Najavits), a treatment for trauma and substance use, groups grounding into mental, physical and soothing kinds. Different ones work for different people, so try a few.
- 5-4-3-2-1: name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
- Physical: press your feet into the floor, hold an object and describe it, stretch.
- Mental: describe the room in detail, count backward from 100 by 7s, name categories (dog breeds, cities).
- Soothing: say kind things to yourself, think of favorite things, picture people who care about you.
- Try them with your eyes open so you stay connected to the room, and notice how you feel before and after.
1. Times I most need grounding
2. Skills I tried
Check any that apply
3. How upset I was before
0 = Calm01234567891010 = Overwhelmed
4. How upset I was after
0 = Calm01234567891010 = Overwhelmed
5. The two or three that worked best
6. What I'll carry to make grounding easy (an object, a photo, a scent)
7. Who I'll tell about my grounding plan