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Grounding Tools
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I went to the opposite end of our postings here to the earliest on the site, dating back to 2006, and saw something that might be just as useful today to us as it as to them back then. It's a list of "grounding tools" for PTSD I could sure use them. I'm pasting them in here. Anybody else have any to add as a 2012 update? Mujicaptsd
"Grounding Tools-some a little corny... from hope71 Found these at http://members.tripod.com/mysteryic... Breathe from the diaphram and try to remain as calm as possible. Chew on ice. Rub ice over the body. An anklet surrounded with little silver bells that someone sent to us on another group (thanks, Rhi!) that seems to work by having us focus on the noise it makes....also guaranteed to bring every cat in the house out of hiding so that they can play with it! Place a loose rubber band around the wrist and snap it hard enough to feel it but not to do any damage. Jump into either a hot shower or a cold shower depending on the weather in order to shock ourselves back into the present. We have been known to do this fully clothed. Whatever works at the present time to get back to reality. Listening to music that suits the emotion and cranking it up and singing out loud while stomping our feet. Stroking one of our cats and just closing our eyes and feeling the fur and hearing the purrs. Brushing the dog and concentrating on the feel of the brush strokes. Biting into a lemon. Eating *yes, eating* salt. Putting a small pebble in our shoe and walking around. Digging our nails slightly into our palms just enough to cause dent marks and pain, but not enough to cause damage. Brushing our hair until the moment(s) has passed. Popping bubble wrap. (Cheap at Big Lots or other discount stores) (This is also guaranteed to annoy the heck out of anyone trying to watch tv while in the same room with you....just ask my ex-husband!) Searching for jokes to submit to our email support groups and friends keep us grounded by distracting us. Playing with the dogs or cats. Brushing the dogs and/or cats. Clipping cats and dogs nails. Taking inventory of something, like our tapes, videos, DVD's and putting the list on computer just to be doing something. Listening to a certain music collection called Collage, Collage II, Collage III, Collage IV, Collage V and Collage VI (can probably get it via Tower Records, I tried looking elsewhere and was unable to find it.) Thought they might be of some help to us." Posted on 12/15/06, 07:46 am Posted on 07/19/12, 11:41 pm |
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I know these tools, I learned them through spiritual and counseling experiences. Problem has been, I'm too weird, sick, pained, poor, cornered, lacking hope to remember them. Thank you. 
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Yeah, I hit a trigger this week that shot me clear into another solar system LOL! Arrghh, I hate these because I feel so foolish afterwards - I've said before, but it's like thinking you're drowning in three feet of water and grabbing onto those closest to you, about to drown them, too, when you finally realize you can stand up. I was trying to breathe and ground myself while in it, but I admit, finally taking a xanax was what got me to my feet. :(
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Great list. Thank you for sharing. There are a few things here I did not know and will use. Thanks again for sharing some solutions I appreciate it.
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I'll get to use them next week. At work a coworker for whom I have a lot of compassion (he's a recovering heroin addict) interrupted a class 3 times and was inappropriate in front of students. I hated to do it, but I let my boss know. I've been called to a meeting.
Of course, my PTSD makes me feel all guilty like I did something wrong. But coming here I know how to put that in context. Thanks for that thread "advocating for yourself." Now I get to do it!
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Am going to try the rubber band on the wrist thing, since panic episodes usually start when I'm not at home, I can therefore be prepared.
Being around a bunch of people is almost always a trigger, I am usually panicking by the time I'm paying for my groceries. ...Am very curious is this little thing will help ground me. My fear when I am triggered is very much like a stupid phobia I've had since I was a kid, long before I had PTSD. Phobia = intense fear of something in the absence of danger. It is so irrational, emotional, so unresponsive to trying to intellectualize about. Being exposed to my phobic thing feels like pure evil is coming after me. I can't even say the word of the thing, I flip if I see a picture. So if I'm trying to get away from the grocery store patrons in a clammy sweat, just wanting to escape to the safety of my home, am wondering if snapping a rubber band will help. I already take Valium before every time before I make the trip.
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I re-read this, and the one that appeals to me today, in an "oh, yeah, I remember" way is the ankle bells. I had soft native american bells on soft leather straps weaved through natural wool. The tinkling was so perfect a tone. I let the kids in the neighborhood play with them, and they broke, one of them. Then life happened, and I forgot about them, or I'd find one bell from the broken one and think about trying to fix it. I just remembered I saw the one that is still in tact outside on the patio. It's dirty but can be washed off. I'm going to wear my bells. Grounding. Very important. Thank you again.
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Yeah, Letitbe. The incident I refer to in a different post where you started the thread on "caution v. paranoia" is the same one I mentioned here. The "customer" mentioned there that the coworker was rude to is my student mentioned here. The meeting will be greatly helped, I think, if I ground myself with what you all are saying here. I love the bells, Milla. Sorry the kids broke them, but it's nice to imagine them playing with them.
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A few things that i have learned is that practiceing doing some of the tips while you are not in the middle is very helpful, just a couple you pick out. Your brain is more apt to kick in when the trigger hits and you need to ground. I always have a plan in mind before going somewhere that I might be triggered. One thing I do is put an orange (oranges) in the freezer, Not only is it cold but the scent of the orange has a calming effect. Another is the 5 senses game. I think I have mentioned it before but it works for me. I started with someone helping me thru and event doing this but is natural now. I name 3 things I see, hear, feel, smell and taste. It is a distraction tool. Most tools you practice while not in the middle of the storm become part of you and if you are with someone who knows this its great too. I was caring for a friend who knew my situation well but had never been with me with a flashback. I had went to the floor and then back to the couch crying. He told me to come lay on the bed and started questioning me with each sense. I was able to take over doing this on my own and became very calm. Picking a few that are simple and just doing them awhile might be helpful. I have also did the music tip, playing opposite of what I feel like if I feel chaotic, something soothing or if depressed, something upbeat
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sisterlu, having a plan as you say is so necessary for me. Anxiety attacks are dirty, sneaky things by definition, and I'm deep in one before I realize what I'm feeling and how strong it is. It's hard to plan spontaneously in a moment of panic like that. So having a plan already laid out really works, like having a spare tire and a flashlight in the trunk of my car. Your words are some wisdom to live by.
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Thanks for posting these.
I can vouch for the cold part. After I had been through a really horrendous trauma, I learned that I could calm the raging storms in my head by going outside on cool nights without a jacket and just sitting somewhere. I don't know why it works, but it does. Somehow the cold makes your brain shift gears from fight/flight to calm in about a half hour or less. At least it always worked for me. I also have fewer nightmares if I sleep with only a light covering on cool nights. Listening to the sound of children at play in the distance can calm you down too. I used to go to parks, find a nice shady spot to sit, and just listen to the happy sounds of families with kids.
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