What Does it Mean to be Grounded?
As you incorporate mindfulness into your life, you’ll find yourself becoming more and more grounded. You may feel unmoved and rooted in your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. The more grounded a person is, the more balanced their thoughts and behaviors are. If you want to become grounded, there are techniques and habits you can implement in your.
This article will dive into what it means to be grounded and how to get there. Just like all good things, it takes time and patience to implement these practices into your life.
What is Being Grounded?
In its most simplified definition, being grounded means being present and aware. Instead of over-worrying about the future, and mistakes of the past, those who have become grounded can see things for how they truly are. It usually results in less stress, anxiety, and depression.
Being grounded is not only a trait, but it is also a discipline technique that goes back to the ancient Chinese principle known as Qi (pronounced chee). Qi is said to be a life force that brings balance and grounding.
Application of grounding can be put into two separate categories: mental grounding and physical grounding. Mental grounding allows for awareness in the mind. It can be applied through mindful speech, thoughts, and other cognitive functions.
Physical grounding allows for bodily awareness and connection. Stretching, breathing, and spending time in nature are some of the best ways to become physically grounded.
How is Mindfulness Incorporated?
Grounding and mindfulness go hand in hand. Mindfulness involves developing awareness of yourself and surroundings, emotional control, and becoming more present. The goal of mindful practices and techniques is to improve your mental health. Some examples of mindful techniques are:
- Breathing exercises
- Yoga and stretching
- Body scanning
- Meditation
A good way to think of mindfulness and grounding as different ideas is to think about their purposes. Mindfulness focuses on the “how”, and grounding focuses on the “what”. Mindfulness involves the practices with the end goal to become grounded.
Related Article: Mindful Breathing Exercises, Mindfulness Movement Exercises
Grounding For Anxiety
Being grounded can drastically improve symptoms of anxiety and stress. It can help the most severe cases, such as crippling anxiety. The mindful practices that get you to a grounded state work to treat symptoms like sleep trouble, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, muscle tension, and lack of appetite.
Related Article: Crippling Anxiety Treatment
When someone experiences anxiety, they often over worry and overthink things that haven’t happened yet. They are so caught up in thinking about the future, that they do not find themselves present, or meta-aware.
Living with anxiety separates you from the present, and harms one's mental health. At Sequoia Behavioral Health, we help those struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, and more by providing a personalized therapy program. Contact us today to begin your mental health journey.
How Does Someone Become Grounded?
Being grounded and unmoved by the unpredictability of life is an ideal state to be in, in any circumstance. For those who have mastered being grounded, it no longer becomes a momentary feeling; it becomes a lifestyle for them.
There are multiple different things that one can do to feel grounded with patience, practice, and consistency.
Mindful Techniques
The first and most important way to become grounded is to apply mindfulness techniques to your daily routine.
Mindful breathing, stretching, movement, and body scans are common practices that can lead to a person feeling grounded. Body scanning is a form of meditation that has you focus on each part of your body to find pain or tension.
Mindfulness-Focused Therapy
Mindful therapies can apply these mindful techniques on a deeper level. One of the best therapies to become more grounded is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. It applies mindfulness exercises to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can treat a range of mental health issues, from anxiety to depression.
Another form of therapy that can help you become grounded is dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). DBT is another form of counseling that is based on CBT. Originally created to treat bipolar disorder, DBT follows a structure made of four pillars:
- Mindfulness
- Interpersonal effectiveness
- Emotional regulation
- Distress tolerance
Mindfulness is considered the most important pillar, helping to establish self-awareness. Interpersonal effectiveness helps you maintain healthy relationships. Emotional regulation allows you to understand and manage intense emotions. The final pillar, distress tolerance, will help you remain grounded when bad things in life happen.
Sound Baths
Sound baths are a form of meditation that uses specific tones and frequencies that promote relaxation. The sounds are produced by Tibetan sound bowls, gongs, or tuning forks. These instruments encourage what’s called entrainment, which is when a person’s brain waves synchronize with the frequencies of the peaceful sounds.
The purpose of the sound bath is to connect your mind to your body.
Related Article: Sound Baths: Creating Internal Harmonies
Become Grounded at Sequoia Behavioral Health
Located in Mesa AZ, Sequoia Behavioral Health encourages our clients to feel grounded through therapies like mindfulness based-cognitive therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy.
Our compassionate team will create a personalized program to suit your needs. Contact us today to get started.