Overwhelm pulls attention into the future and the past at once. Grounding gently returns you to the only place you can actually act: now. It takes about three minutes and needs nothing but your senses.
Five, four, three, two, one
- Notice five things you can see.
- Four things you can feel.
- Three things you can hear.
- Two things you can smell.
- One slow breath, all the way out.
Nothing has to change in your circumstances for this to help. You are simply reminding your body that, in this moment, you are here and you are safe.