6 Simple Grounding Exercises To Quiet Your Negative Thoughts

Have you heard of grounding?  

You may first associate grounding with walking barefoot outside or sitting in the grass.  

That’s not the grounding I’m talking about here 😊  

The grounding I’m talking about here are exercises that can help you refocus on the present moment to distract from anxious feelings, negative thoughts and overthinking in general.

You know those times when you have anxious or negative thoughts and feelings bubble up inside of you and, no matter what you do, they won’t go away?  

Yeh, that’s a good time to have a few grounding skills at the ready.  

You may find that your anxious and negative thoughts and feelings vary in intensity and there are times when you can easily and quickly distract yourself from them. There may be times however when these overwhelming thoughts and feelings hang around longer than you’d like and they start to impact your daily routines, relationships and your mental state.  So, for those situations, let’s have a look at some easy and simple grounding techniques you can do anywhere, anytime and don’t cost you anything.  

1. 📔 Pick up or touch items near you  

Are the things you touch soft or hard? Heavy or light? Warm or cool? Focus on the texture and colour of each item. Challenge yourself to think of specific colours - such as crimson, burgundy, indigo, or turquoise, instead of simply red or blue. 

2. 👂 Listen to your surroundings  

Take a few moments to listen to the noises around you. Do you hear birds? Dogs barking? Machinery or traffic? If you hear people talking, what are they saying? Do you recognise the language?  

Let the sounds wash over you and remind you of where you are.  

3. 🖊️ Mindful tracing 

This has become one of my favourite ways to ground myself when my anxiety and stress are on the rise. I especially love it because not only am I grounding and calming myself down, I’m also learning to draw at the same time. Winning!!! 

Download a FREE Mindful Tracing Page or Check out my Etsy page here. 

4.⚓ Use an anchoring statement  

This might be something like, “I’m Full Name. I’m X years old. I live in City, State. Today is Friday, June 3. It’s 10:04 in the morning. I’m sitting at my desk at work. There’s no one else in the room.”  

You can expand on this exercise by adding details until you feel calm, such as, “It’s raining lightly, but I can still see the sun. It’s my break time. I’m thirsty, so I’m going to make a cup of tea.”  

5. 🪑 Describe what’s around you  

Spend a few minutes taking in your surroundings and noting what you see. Use all five senses to provide as much detail as possible.  

“This bench is red, but the bench over there is green. It’s warm under my jeans since I’m in the sun. It feels rough, but there aren’t any splinters. The air smells like smoke. I hear kids laughing and dogs barking.” 

6. 🍨 Think in categories  

Choose one or two broad categories, such as “musical instruments”, “ice cream flavours” or “car models”. Take a minute or so to mentally list as many things from each category as you can.  

One of my favourite categories is to name as many positive words as I can that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet. For example - S.  

• sensational 

• sweet 

• safe 

• secure 

• soft 

• strong  

Not only are you concentrating on words that begin with the letter “S”, you’re thinking and saying positive words that are impacting your subconscious mind. I have used this technique countless times to help change my thoughts and emotional state.  

Don’t be fooled though. Grounding yourself isn’t always easy. It may take some time to find the techniques that work best for you in different situations.  

That’s why I believe it’s important to have a toolbox of soothing and grounding techniques to help when our thoughts and emotions go a bit crazy.  

I hope this helps you for those times when you feel off and need some help getting back on track again. 

🥰Bev