50 Grounding Techniques for Anxiety, PTSD & Complex PTSD

Grounding is the art of returning to your body and the present moment. When anxiety spikes, panic surges, or a flashback pulls you under, grounding is the rope back.

There is no single "right" technique. What works in a supermarket queue is not what works at 3am. Build a toolkit, not a rulebook.

Sensory grounding (1–15)

1. 5-4-3-2-1: 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you touch, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
2. Hold an ice cube until it melts.
3. Splash cold water on your face.
4. Suck a strong mint or sour sweet.
5. Smell essential oil (peppermint, citrus).
6. Wrap yourself in a weighted blanket.
7. Press your feet firmly into the floor.
8. Rub textured fabric between your fingers.
9. Listen to a single instrument in a song.
10. Name every colour you can see.
11. Hold something warm — a mug, a hot water bottle.
12. Chew gum slowly and notice the flavour.
13. Take a cold shower for 30 seconds.
14. Bite into a lemon.
15. Focus on the taste of a piece of dark chocolate.

Body & movement grounding (16–30)

16. Push your palms hard against a wall for 30 seconds.
17. Squeeze a stress ball rhythmically.
18. Stand up, feel your weight, then sit down again.
19. Shake out your arms and legs for one minute.
20. Slow walk, naming each step: "left, right."
21. Stretch your arms overhead and yawn.
22. Roll your shoulders in slow circles.
23. Tense and release each muscle group (progressive relaxation).
24. Hold a plank for 20 seconds.
25. Dance to one song, badly, on purpose.
26. Sway side to side like a metronome.
27. Rock gently in a chair.
28. Do 10 slow squats.
29. Cross your arms and tap alternate shoulders (butterfly hug).
30. Massage your own hands with lotion.

Breath & vagal grounding (31–38)

31. Inhale 4, exhale 8. Repeat 10 times.
32. Box breathing: 4-4-4-4.
33. Hum for 60 seconds.
34. Sigh audibly three times.
35. Gargle water loudly.
36. Blow out an imaginary candle slowly.
37. Sing one line of a song out loud.
38. Try the Core Breathing library for guided practice.

Cognitive grounding (39–45)

39. Say aloud: today's date, your age, your location.
40. Count backwards from 100 in 7s.
41. Name 10 animals starting with the same letter.
42. Recite a poem or song lyric.
43. Describe your surroundings as if narrating to a stranger.
44. List your safe people, out loud, one by one.
45. Do a simple maths problem on paper.

Relational & spiritual grounding (46–50)

46. Text a safe person just one word: "here".
47. Hold a pet, or watch one on video.
48. Look at a photo of someone you love.
49. Wrap your own arms around yourself and say your name.
50. Place a hand on your chest and one on your belly. Breathe into both.

How to use this list

• Match the tool to the state. Frozen? Movement or cold. Overwhelmed? Sensory or breath. Dissociating? Naming and orienting.
• Practise when you're calm. Grounding techniques are muscles. Train them before you need them.
• Layer them. Cold water + naming + long exhale is more powerful than any one alone.
• Screenshot this page. Save it in a folder called When It's Bad.

When grounding isn't enough

Grounding manages symptoms — it doesn't process the underlying wound. Pair it with trauma-informed support, community, and pacing. Explore the Learn Hub, read about emotional flashbacks, or visit You Are Not Alone if you're in crisis.

You are not weak for needing tools. You are wise for building them.