Speaker #0Hello and welcome to Stop Wasting Your Life, the podcast. I'm Ava Heimbach, your host and founder, and today our wonderful guest is myself again. I am back on here by myself. Don't act so excited, everybody. I know it's just me, but today we're going to be talking about some of my go-to grounding exercises, we're going to cover what grounding means, what it What do you mean, Ava? What is grounding? Well, I'm going to tell you what grounding is. I'm going to tell you the different types of grounding and the specific grounding exercises that I use when I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed or just there's a lot of chaos in my brain. This is where grounding really, really helps me. And I love using grounding as a way to get out of my head. and reconnect with my body in the present moment. So today I'm going to be telling you guys a little bit about that and what that looks like in my life. Welcome to Stop Wasting Your Life, the podcast that helps you break free from a life of self-doubt and distraction and inspires you to create a fulfilling and purposeful life. Each week we dive into actionable advice, meaningful conversation, and insightful interviews to empower you to prioritize your well-being pursue your passions and become the best version of yourself. It's time to stop wasting your life and start building one that you are excited to wake up to. Before we begin, just a little reminder that giveaway is still going on. We have 20 days left for that. So if you're interested in a $500 gift card of your choice, go to www.stopwastingyourlifepodcast.com. Click on the giveaways tab and there you will find all the ways that you can enter to win that gift card. So go ahead and check that out. Are you interested in donating or sponsoring our podcast? If you are, go to our website, www.stopwastingyourlifepodcast.com. Click on either the sponsor or donate tab, depending on which one you're interested in. And just a reminder that this podcast runs on your support. So if you enjoy listening to us, please consider donating or sponsoring us because it means the entire, entire, entire world to us. Another reminder, I want everyone to know, I say it before every single episode, but there is no right or wrong way to live your life. The definition of a fulfilling life is unique to each person. We aren't here to tell you how to live your life. Just want to give you ideas, knowledge, inspiration so that you can create a life that you think is beautiful. Once again, I'm Ava Heimbach, your host, and this is Stop Wasting Your Life. So today, it's a solo episode, and we're going to be talking about my go-to grounding exercises. As you all know, I've lived with anxiety my whole life, and I've been taught these different grounding exercises since I was a little girl. Like, I literally started counseling in first grade. My counselor was amazing. She, when I started in first grade, like she had pretty much just gotten married. And by the time I left, she had two kids and was pregnant with her third. So I spent a lot of time with this young lady. I loved her to death. And she taught me so many grounding exercises that I used when I was in like first grade. So obviously some of those have changed. And I've learned some new ones and I use some of my old ones, but I've found a lot of success in utilizing these different grounding exercises throughout my life and especially now. So what do I mean when I say grounding? So essentially, grounding is the practice of bringing yourself fully into the present moment, paying close attention to your. body, your senses, and your environment so that you aren't just stuck in your own head with your own thoughts. And when I am having a panic attack or I'm super anxious, all I am is stuck in my own head and in my own thoughts. And I like to use grounding as a way to kind of shift my attention from my thoughts to the present moment or what is happening right now around me and in my body. as a way to reduce the intensity of those anxious thoughts. Because when someone is experiencing anxiety, especially an anxiety attack, It triggers your fight or flight response, which I'm sure all of you have probably heard of. Probably not in regards to anxiety, but probably in regards to being chased by a bear. But hey, your body probably thinks it's the same thing. So anxiety triggers that fight or flight response, which makes, well, which makes me at least, it makes my heart race. My breathing gets really quick. My muscles tense and grounding. helps send this signal to my body saying, hey girl, these are just thoughts. We're safe. Let's calm down. Let's take a deep breath. And they're super nice because they are practical tools that I can use anywhere, anytime. And even though grounding exercises don't always take away all of the anxiety or stop. a panic attack all the way, these exercises are the first tool in my quote-unquote anxiety 101 handbook that I like to use when experiencing these chaotic and overwhelming feelings. So what are the different types of grounding? There are lots of different types of grounding. I'm not going to cover every single one of them, but some of the main ones that I like to use are Number one, physical or... also known as body-based grounding. This type of grounding focuses on connecting with your body and the present moment through sensations and movement. So there are lots of different ways to use sensations and movement to get back into your body, but these are the main ones that I like to utilize. So the first one is I know it's going to sound kind of weird, but I love to walk around barefoot outside specifically. I guess you could do it inside, but it's kind of hard inside, so I recommend doing it outside. So literally, I'll just go outside if I'm super anxious and let the dogs loose, take off the shoes, start walking around, and I'll be super, super mindful and aware of the different sensations that I feel when... I am walking barefoot. So I'll notice, you know, are my feet warm or cold? What is the temperature of the surface that I'm stepping on? Is the ground smooth? Is it rough? Do my feet hurt when I'm walking on the ground? Is it soft? Is it squishy? Is it muddy? I just name every single sensation that I'm feeling as I walk. outside and I've noticed that is one way to really get me out of my head and into my body. Another physical grounding exercise that I like to use is taking a super cold or super hot shower or bath. I ask any of my close friends and they'll tell you that I take a lot of showers and I take a lot of baths, especially when I'm feeling anxious. But Taking a super cold or super hot shower really helps because sharp and sometimes uncomfortable physical sensations activate what's called the sympathetic nervous system, which is your fight or flight response. And it does so in a way that can interrupt those anxious thoughts and increase alertness and presence in a. current moment. So I take a lot of super cold and super hot showers because it honestly kind of feels like a shock to my body, which gets me out of my head and into my body because my body is like, what the heck is going on? This water is super freaking freezing cold and we don't have time to think about what's making you anxious because we're going to think about this cold water. So that is definitely one of my top grounding exercises that I use on repeat. My last go-to physical grounding exercise is super simple. It's just tapping my body. This is also called somatic grounding. Somatic pretty much just means related to the body. So tapping my body as a way to quickly get back into my body and out of my head. This is a super fast, super easy, do it wherever. I don't find it super, super effective. I feel like especially when my thoughts are super overwhelming or I am super anxious. Sometimes I need a little bit more than just tapping my body. But if I kind of just notice, oh, I'm starting to feel a little anxious, tapping my body is a good way to kind of try and stop those. thoughts before they get too overwhelming and too strong. And tapping my body does a good job of doing that. Just a little interruption. The code for this episode is 9098. So if you want to, you can go to our website, www.stopwastingyourlifepodcast.com. Click on the giveaways tab, find the area where you can submit the secret code and type that code in for extra chances to win that $500 gift card. Just a reminder that code is 9098. The second type of grounding that we are going to talk about is sensory grounding. So it's pretty much what it sounds like. Sensory grounding is engaging your five senses to pull your attention away from those overwhelming anxious thoughts and back into your body through your senses. There's only one sensory grounding exercise that I really go back to consistently. I just like to call it the five senses. I don't think there's like a really cool name for it. I wish there was. And if you come up with a cool name for it, please let me know because I just call it the five senses. But pretty much what I do is I name five things I can see, five things I can touch, five things I can smell, five things I can hear. And usually I can't taste five things at once, but you get the point. If you want to taste five things at once, props to you. You can add that one. But I always just do touch, smell, hear, and see. So an example of this would be, let's say I'm sitting on a beach. I always try and be super, super, super specific because it'd be really easy to be like, I see the waves. I hear the waves. I'm touching the sand. Like, no, that's boring and easy, and we don't want that. So I try and be super, super specific. So. If I'm sitting on the beach, I'll say, okay, I see the teeny tiny tan crab that is scurrying from left to right on the beach. I feel the wind blowing from the west. I hear the waves breaking 30 feet from shore to the right of me, X, Y, and Z. So, very specific. The more specific you are, the easier it is for you to get out of your head. And so you best believe I am sitting there making it extremely specific. The third type of grounding is mental or cognitive grounding. This involves using your thoughts or mental exercises or imagery to redirect your focus and give your mind a task to help interrupt those anxious thoughts and get your mind to focus on other things. So my go-to mental grounding exercises are a game that I, this is actually one that I was taught super, super young in first grade in counseling. So I hope she's listening and knows that I still use this one, but it's called categories. So pretty much I'll pick a category. For example, we're going to say animals. Animals is the category. And I'll start with A and I'll name an animal that starts with the letter A. And then I'll name an animal that starts with the letter B and then an animal that starts with C and so on so forth until I get to Z. And I find that a very helpful tool. creating something for my mind to focus on that's not my anxiety. Another thing that I like to do is I like to spell words in sign language. Actually, I learned the alphabet and I still don't have all the letters memorized. So if I come up with words or sometimes I'll ask someone to, if I'm with someone, I'm getting anxious, I'll say, give me a word and then I'll spell it. in sign language because I don't have those letters memorized. And it takes that brain power for me to remember what the letters are. And so I really like that one. I actually think it's fun. And I get to practice sign language and it gets me out of my head. So it's literally three for one deal. Another mental grounding exercise that I like to use are puzzles. And I I have this puzzle app on my iPad and I get really anxious on airplanes. And I always without the puzzle on the airplane. And I guarantee everyone around me is like, why is this? 23 year old, literally eight years old. And I literally don't care because puzzles are so good for my anxiety and honestly, just so relaxing. So if you are a puzzle person, download a puzzle app on your iPad or get a physical puzzle and try doing that next time you're anxious. Because for me, it forces me to concentrate and shift my attention towards something else. In this case, a puzzle. And it engages that thinking side of my brain instead of this emotional side of my brain, which I tend to go straight to that emotional side of my brain and go into this thinking side of my brain naturally quiets that emotional center responsible for the anxiety and overwhelming emotions that I'm feeling. So puzzles are a great way to do that. I 110% recommend I. Again, ask any of my close friends and if they've seen me remotely anxious, they have seen me do a puzzle. The last type of grounding that we're going to talk about today is emotional grounding. Emotional grounding helps you observe your emotions without being overwhelmed by them, if that makes sense. I don't use this type of grounding very often because I try and stay sometimes away from. the emotional side of my brain, but every once in a while I will. So my go-to emotional grounding exercise is pretty much just visualizing my head as a sky. And in that sky, I have clouds, but they're just passing by. So I'll acknowledge those thoughts as clouds. And when I see them, I'll say, oh. There they are, but I won't judge them and I'll just let them pass and move on. So sometimes I'll sit there and I'll imagine my head and it's a sky and, oh, there's a cloud. And that cloud means there is some anxiety. And, oh, wait, there's some sadness, too. And I'll say it, but I'm not going to try and chase those thoughts or fight it. I'm just going to remind myself that. They are thoughts and they are temporary and they exist, but they are passing. And I'll visualize that in my head as a way to be like, okay, there goes the anxiety or okay, sadness was here, but it's just passing. So there are a few of the grounding exercises that have really helped me in my journey with anxiety and big overwhelming emotions. and okay yes this grounding doesn't erase the anxiety, but it does give me a way to pause and breathe and come back to myself and my body and the present moment instead of getting all caught up in all these crazy emotions that are just swirling around in my head. And even though these exercises work for me, they might not all work for you guys. So I encourage you to Find your own grounding exercises that you can tap into whenever you're overwhelmed with anxiety and big emotions and really utilize those because it's a free tool that you can pull out anywhere at any time. So I really hope that you can find those grounding exercises that work for you. And that concludes our episode. I really hope you enjoyed this short little episode about the grounding exercises that I've found very helpful. helpful in my journey with my big emotions and anxiety. And I hope that you get to find some grounding exercises that work for you and what's going on inside your head. Just a reminder that giveaway is still going on. You can enter to win that $500 gift card. There's 20 days left. So if you're interested in that, go to our website, www.stoplosingyourlifepodcast.com. Click on the giveaways tab and find all the ways that you can enter there and we will see you. next week. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Stop Wasting Your Life. We hope that you are feeling motivated to take charge of your future and start living with purpose, intention and authenticity. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to leave us a good review, give us a follow and subscribe to our newsletter. For more information, go to www.stopwastingyourlifepodcast.com and we will see you next week.
