Five Grounding Exercises for Dissociation

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Evidence Based Trauma Grounding Techniques to Calm Dissociation

Using grounding exercises for dissociation is a great way to confront this mental health concern. There are many grounding techniques that can work for this purpose and we are going to highlight five excellent options on this page.

You can explore mental exercises on your own to help reduce dissociation and effectively stay in the present moment. If you need professional help, however, it’s a good idea to reach out to Catalina Behavioral Health right away. With our help, you’ll be able to explore other techniques and practice grounding techniques that you can carry with you day after day in the real world.

Don’t let your dissociative episodes get out of control without getting assistance. Our team will analyze your dissociative symptoms, develop a treatment plan, and get right to work on putting that plan into action. Take a moment to give us a call now and let’s work together to create a brighter future.

What is Dissociation?

Dissociation can be described as a psychological response to overwhelming stress, trauma, or anxiety. You can think of it as your mind’s way of protecting you from pain. Whether that pain is emotional or physical, it’s your mind trying to put up a wall that will keep you safe.

People who experience dissociation often describe it as feeling disconnected from the rest of the world. Even their immediate surroundings don’t feel or seem real. This detachment can even apply to your own thoughts. The dissociative process takes a lot of mental energy and can cause the world to appear foggy or dreamlike.

Taking a closer look at some specific symptoms may help you understand this condition.

Feeling Emotionally Numb

You may find it difficult, or impossible, to emotionally connect with the world around you when experiencing dissociation.

Not only does your body feel like it isn’t your own, but you also struggle to gain ownership over your emotions. It’s like the world is happening around you without you actually being a participant in it.

Zoning Out or Losing Chunks of Time

Another common experience is to simply zone out and lose track of time. You might find yourself in a completely different mental space for a period, only to “come out of it” at some point and realize a significant amount of time has passed. This kind of experience can be unsettling and can have serious professional or personal implications.

Being Unsure of Who or Where You Are

A strong sense of personal identity is part of being alive. With dissociation, however, it’s hard to feel like you know who you are in the present moment. You might not even feel like you know where you are. Dissociative identity disorder can strip this all away and using treatment and various techniques can help to unwind the symptoms and get back to being your true self.

The Power of Grounding Techniques

The fundamental goal of grounding techniques is to bring attention back to the present moment. Your mind may currently be in a pattern of focusing on internal experience and how you interpret it. By taking that focus somewhere else, you can anchor yourself in the present and reduce your dissociative episodes.

Exercise #1 – The 5-4-3-2-1 Technique

This is one of the most well-known grounding strategies to employ when battling dissociation. It’s also a simple exercise, so it’s great if you are just getting started in exploring what grounding techniques offer. Gently reengage your senses by going through these five steps –

• Look around the room and pick out five things you can see
• Find four objects near you that you can feel
• Pick out three things that you can hear
• Notice two things you can smell in your immediate surroundings
• Select one thing you can taste

All of these sensory experiences will help you return to the present moment and get you away from the internal focus of dissociation.

Exercise #2 – Box Breathing

You may also hear of this technique being called square breathing. Something as simple and fundamental as breathing might not seem like it could change your mental state, but give it a try before dismissing the notion entirely.

The process is simple. You inhale through your nose for four seconds and hold that breath for four seconds. Then, exhale through your mouth for four seconds before again holding your breath for four more seconds.

Each step is just four seconds, and you should repeat the process a few times, as needed. This rhythmic breathing pattern can help to reduce the symptoms of dissociation and calm any sense of panic.

Exercise #3 – Name and Describe

As mentioned above, dissociation can make you feel apart from the surrounding world, or distant from your own life. One way to combat those experiences is to name out loud some of the things in your immediate surroundings.

This exercise could hardly be simpler. Just look around the room you are in, or an outdoor space, and name the things you see. Yes, you should say these things out loud. It could be a couch you see in your living room, a tree in a park, or literally anything else.

It doesn’t matter much what you are naming. The only thing that matters is that you physically see these things in your presence and you notice and acknowledge them. That will engage different areas of your brain and can help pull you out of the fog you’ve been in.

Exercise #4 – Cold Water

At first, this one sounds physically unpleasant. If you give it a chance, however, you might find that it can have a powerful ability to bring you back into awareness.

The idea here is to use temperature to “shock” yourself back into the present moment. Of course, this should always be done safely and under control, but it’s a great way to reconnect with reality.

Many different options exist for using cold water to become more aware. You could simply splash cold water onto your face from the sink. Maybe you’ll hold an ice cube in your hand for a couple of minutes as it melts. Whatever approach you choose, allow the sensation of cold to awaken you and return to this technique as needed moving forward.

Exercise #5 – Grounding Through Movement

Physical movement is an excellent treatment option for so many mental health challenges. That’s certainly true with dissociation. Even simple, gentle physical sensations can help pull you out of the freeze that you might be experiencing.

Start with nothing more than gentle stretching. Or walk around on the grass barefoot to feel the earth below you. As you advance with this technique, consider more formal types of activities, like yoga or tai chi.

Get Support for Improving Dissociative Symptoms Today

It’s easy to normalize your distressing thoughts and the other mental health issues you face each day.

But you don’t have to accept them as part of life. Let’s work on getting back to the present so you can live in the here and now as often and consistently as possible.

Catalina Behavioral Health is the right choice to address your mental health challenges. We regularly serve people in this same situation and will craft an effective treatment plan to stabilize your emotions, strengthen your connection to reality, and remind you of what is important in life. We appreciate the time you’ve spent on this page and hope to chat with you soon.