The Grounding technique is a therapeutic technique that recently emerged in the field of physical and psychological health whose main objective is to restore people’s health by reconnecting the human being with the Earth. To do this, different exercises are performed through which the person “grounds” by contacting it with their bare feet. In psychology, this technique has multiple applications, but above all it is usually used in anxiety disorders because it helps connect with the present and paralyze the rumination that feeds anxiety.
In the following Psychology-Online article we will explain What is the Grounding technique for anxiety and how to practice it. In addition, you will also find why it calms anxiety and what are the specific benefits of using it.
What is the Grounding technique in psychology
The Grounding or Earthing technique means “to take ground.” From a scientific point of view, it refers to the positive effect that walking barefoot in direct contact with the earth about human physiology and psyche.
In the 90s, several authors, among whom Clinton Ober stands out, began different investigations to test this hypothesis. The positive results indicated that, indeed, making direct contact of our feet with the Earth provides a wide variety of benefits to the person’s general state of health. For example, it relieves pain from chronic diseases, reduces stress, improves sleep, strengthens the immune system, reduces inflammation, helps improve arthritis, headaches, etc.
Based on all this research, various explanations of this technique have been made to improve people’s physical and psychological health. In psychology, This technique is widely used to combat anxiety because it allows the affected person to end the state of confusion and anguish and regain peace by performing different exercises that allow them to return to the present. In the following article we explain
How to practice the Grounding technique to reduce anxiety
Taking into account the initial meaning of Grounding, the basic and main practice of this technique consists of walking barefoot on solid ground. The steps to follow to do it correctly would be the following:
- Find a quiet natural space in which to practice this technique without interruptions.
- take off our shoes.
- While we are standing and in contact with the earth, we will begin a gentle deep breathing that will allow us to regain lost contact with the earth little by little.
- After a few minutes breathing deeply and awakening our body to contact with the earth, We will begin a smooth and calm walk.
- during the walk we will become aware about how our feet contact the different elements of the earth and how we feel as time passes, the sounds we hear or the visual details we observe (light, colors, images…).
From here, the grounding technique has given rise to multiple specific exercises and techniques that help reduce anxiety. Below we explain two of them:
“The three three”
This exercise consists of closing your eyes and, after an initial deep relaxation, name the three sounds we perceive around us. After this, we will slowly open our eyes and name the three colors seen first and, finally, we will describe the three sensations experienced at that same moment.
This simple exercise helps people with anxiety to focus their attention on these small instructions and, without even realizing it, get rid of the mental ruminations that kept them in an unpleasant state of anxiety. In this article you will find some.
“5,4,3,2,1”
This technique consists of promote the development of the five senses, taking into account that when this sensory connection helps us ground ourselves and return to the present. To do it, you must name the first 5 things we see, touch 4 objects, list 3 sounds we hear, pay attention to two things we smell and, finally, become aware of a flavor.
Other valid techniques would be all those that promote personal contact with oneself and with the reality that surrounds us through the use of elements of nature, given their proven beneficial effect on people’s health. For example, dancing in nature, hugging a tree, sitting on the ground and taking deep breaths, walking on different natural surfaces, etc.
Why the Grounding technique calms anxiety
Anxiety distances the person from the present, overwhelming them with memories of the past or fears about the future. The anxious state focuses the mind on a continuum of negative thoughts that wear down and corner the person. The Grounding technique allows you to return to the presentthus reducing anxiety levels by abandoning irrational thoughts.
When carrying out the suggested instructions, the anxious person’s mind must abandon negative thoughts and focus on feeling what they touch, smell, hear, see, feel, etc. It is not an easy job since, at first, the torrent of thoughts chains the person and paralyzes them.
However, therapeutic support helps the person gradually abandon their state of blockage and acquire a conscious and active role in their life. It is through these small actions that the person breaks the chain of irrational thoughts and, thereby, reduces the .
Benefits of practicing the Grounding technique
The scientific explanation of the benefits of practicing the Grounding technique is based on the fact that planet Earth is a large electrical network whose characteristics generate an optimal biological environment for living beings and people to restore the internal balance of our physiological systems. In this sense, social advances have taken us to cities far from nature, covered in asphalt and on which we must walk with shoes.
This entire new vital situation of the human being has been an obstacle in the natural way of discharging and recharging the body, which has led to a cluster of organic imbalances that have accounted for a good part of the origin or worsening of many of the current physical and mental ailments. psychological conditions of our society, such as stress, all types of inflammatory diseases, psychological and emotional disorders, etc.
For all these reasons, the Grounding technique is a very useful tool to be able to use the innate mechanism of organic restructuring of the human being as means of recovery and necessary maintenance of health. In short, Grounding reminds us that it is inherent to human beings to be one with nature, to maintain continuous contact with it to remain in optimal states of health.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Zucher, M. et al. (2012). “Earthing: barefoot.” Syrian Publishing House