Dissociating? Ground Yourself.
- Play a video game (Skyrim! Portal!), phone game (Bejeweled! Candy Crush!), or online game (CandyStand, Dress Up, Neopets, Big Fish, Robot Unicorn).
- Draw. Scribble away and feel how solid the materials are in your hands. Focus on the pressure of the utensil against paper.
- Write. Write one phrase over and over again if you must. “I am here,” is a good thing to write. Use a hard pen. Feel the pen slide over the page as you write.
- Close your eyes and breathe. Focus on your breathing. Count how many seconds it takes to breathe in, and then out. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Then again.
- While breathing deeply with your eyes closed, try and recall five things you could see when you had your eyes open. Picture them vividly. Try to describe them.
- Concentrate hard on the things you can currently feel. Try and pinpoint at least three distinct sensations.
- Concentrate on the taste in your mouth, and what you can smell.
- LIsten for any sounds. Concentrate on them.
- Sit in a chair, with your back straight and your feet firmly planted on the ground. Feel how the ground feels under your feet, how the chair feels, how your body feels. Focus on the sensations from your body touching the ground and the chair.
- Meditate! Lie down. Get comfortable. Close your eyes. Try to clear your mind and let all thoughts go through without paying attention to them. Acknowledge the thoughts, but don’t let them gain control. While you meditate it helps to do the deep breathing exercise at the same time.
- Pet your animals. Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, whatever.
- Hold an ice cube in your palm. It’s cold! Embrace the cold.
- Listen to loud music. Metal and heavy rock can be especially good for grounding yourself.
- Try to make a phone call to a friend. Focus on their voice. Holding a conversation is a great way to force yourself to stay grounded.
- Try to find familiar smells. Sniff your pillow, your old stuffed animal, your parent’s perfume/cologne, your OWN perfume/cologne, deodorant, even garbage works.
- Find yourself a chant, such as “I’m here, and I’m real.” Chant this to yourself, over and over again, until you get tongue-tied.
- Practice mindful walking. Walk very slowly around the perimeter of the room you are in, feeling every step as you go, and recognizing the solidity of the ground beneath your feet.
- Visually ground yourself. Stare at objects. Touch them if you have to, but really look at it. Don’t stare downward, but look up and out and around. Notice the world around you. Focus on each individual aspect of it. Try listing the colors you see.
- Try taking quizzes online. Personal quizzes, math refreshers, whatever. Quizzes will force you to attempt to recall facts.
