Category: Mindfulness

Overview

Great as a grounding exercise to help be more present with your emotions and environment.

When you are noticing you’re becoming overwhelmed with emotion or distracted by sudden thought processes, this coping strategy can be used immediately to ground you and offset anymore distress.

Requirements

This exercise can be done anywhere but is most effective in busy environments as you have lots of stimulation around you.

If you are currently experiencing psychosis or dissociation caused by mental ill health, please don’t perform this exercise as this could flare your symptoms. Make sure to check with a mental health professional what ground exercises will be best for you.

How to

You should deploy this coping tool straight away when you notice you are becoming overwhelmed with emotion or negative inward looking thought processes.

Ask yourself in the following order and identify:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can touch
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste

When you have asked and identified all your senses, check-in with yourself.

How are your emotions now? Is your state of overwhelming feeling increasing, decreasing or about the same?

Getting a solid answer after that can help you navigate the next upcoming moments.

Do you need to change environment? Can you do something else to distract yourself?

Additional

Performing a Sensory Countdown 2 to 3 times a day throughout the week is ideal if you find it difficult to get in touch with your emotions and connect with your environment.

If you have Autism Spectrum Disorder, this technique can be really effective, even if you do it 2 to 3 times a week.

We wouldn’t recommend doing this exercise anymore than 3 times a day, as it can become exhausting.

Find the right balance for you and ask trusted people like family or health professionals how frequently you should perform this strategy. Do what is comfortable and manageable for your weekly routine.

Overview

Grain of Sand is a mindfulness technique involving textures which can help pull you back to the present moment.

If you’re more of a sensory person and appreciate textures, this is for you.

Requirements

Ideally, small grains of sand or rice can be used but not necessary.

You can imagine a small piece of something between your fingertips and that works perfectly too.

How to

• We want to imagine or hold our makeshift sand between our fingertips. Ideally, using your thumb and index (middle) finger.
• Begin small, repetitive rotations with your fingertips to roll the ‘sand’ around.
• As you start to take notice of the feeling, close your eyes as you continue.
• Do this for 2 of minutes.
• If your mind begins to wonder, that’s perfectly normal. Just bring your mind back to the sensation during this time.
• When your finished, slowly take notice of your environment as you open your eyes.
• Carry on with your day.

Additional

This can be a handy strategy because you can do it on the go.

There is no strict time limits on this strategy. You don’t have to have your eye closed either.

Instead, use it as you need too but make sure you have breaks in between as otherwise it can lose its effectiveness.

This strategy should go alongside other coping techniques which don’t involve textures so you utilise other areas of the brain.