Build your grounding kit
Pack a few items that help you stay connected when things get rough:
Keep it in your bag, car, or bedside drawer — somewhere easy to grab when emotions spike.
Earphones + calm playlist
Hand cream or essential oil
Peppermint tea bag
Small textured item (smooth stone, fabric swatch)
Sticky note with your grounding script
Grounding Mindfulness
Finding Your Feet When Life Feels Too Much
Simple, body-based ways to calm your system, reconnect with the present, and choose your next safe step.
What mindfulness means in DBT
In DBT, mindfulness isn’t about sitting cross-legged on a mountain or trying to “empty your mind.” It’s about paying attention, on purpose, to what’s happening right now — without judging it.
These skills — Observe, Describe, and Participate — help you notice your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings so you can respond with intention rather than react on autopilot.
When your brain races, mindfulness becomes an anchor. When you feel numb or spaced out, it helps you return to your body. Over time, it teaches your nervous system that it can slow down and still be safe.
Why grounding works
Grounding is a form of mindfulness that uses your senses and breath to bring your attention back to the present. It tells your body, I’m here, I’m safe enough, and I have choices.
Evidence shows sensory grounding and paced breathing can lower adrenaline, ease panic, and reduce dissociation. The key is to rehearse it in calm moments — so it’s ready when life gets messy.
Grounding isn’t about ignoring pain. It’s how you stay steady long enough to take the next right step.
Quick grounding practices
Use any of these whenever you feel overwhelmed, detached, or stuck in looping thoughts.
5-4-3-2-1: Name 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
Temperature reset: Splash cool water on your face or neck, or sip something cold.
Object anchor: Hold a textured item (stone, key, fabric) and describe it in ten words
Feet + breath: Press your feet into the floor for ten seconds; breathe in for four, out for six (repeat five times).
Room scan: Name the date, time, location, and one thing you can control next.
Tiny win (60 seconds):
Say aloud:
“It’s [day/time]. I’m in [place]. I can feel [object]. Next, I will [one step].”
Then do that step. You just grounded.
If grounding feels tricky (trauma-aware notes)
Grounding should never make you feel worse. If it does, tweak it until it feels safe.
Keep your eyes open if closing them increases anxiety.
Avoid strong scents if they trigger memories — stick to mild, neutral smells like soap or tea
If images or flashbacks intrude, try orienting by colour (name five blue things) or count corners in the room.
Choose external focus (textures, movement, sounds) before internal focus (breath, imagery) if your body feels unsafe.
You’re not doing it wrong — you’re listening to what your nervous system needs.
Real story: finding calm again
Before I learned mindfulness, I lived either on autopilot or in constant mental chaos.
I’d walk somewhere and later realise I remembered nothing about the trip. My mind was always in the past or the future — never in the moment I was actually living.
When I began grounding, things changed slowly. At first it felt awkward. But one day, during a panic, I pressed my feet into the floor, named the colours in the room, and realised the fear didn’t own me anymore. That one moment of awareness became a turning point.
Mindfulness doesn’t erase pain; it gives you space to breathe inside it.
Why this helps with anxiety, ADHD, and trauma
Anxiety
Mindfulness quiets the brain’s “what-if” stories. By noticing sensations instead of spirals, you remind your body that the danger is imagined, not present.
ADHD:
You don’t need to sit still. Try active mindfulness — noticing sounds on a walk or how water feels in the shower. These micro-moments build focus and impulse control
Trauma:
Grounding tells your brain the event is over. Focusing on the date, sounds, or texture of an object helps anchor you in now. Each time you do it, you strengthen your sense of safety in the present.
When grounding might not be the move
If grounding doesn’t help or emotions intensify:
Grounding is one option, not a rule. The goal is always safety.
Try TIPP skills (cold water, intense movement, paced breathing).
Use distraction if you're spiralling — gentle activity, music, or talking to someone.
If you feel unsafe or at risk, please reach out to crisis supports below right now.
Track a tiny win
After you try a grounding exercise, rate your distress 0–10.
Note one small action that changed — even something like “stayed on the couch instead of pacing.”
Small wins count. That’s how self-trust rebuilds.
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Related tools and next steps
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Mindfulness & Wise Mind → /modules/mindfulness
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Distress Tolerance → /modules/distress-tolerance
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2am Spiral Kit → /modules/2am-spira
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Try Elara (ask for a grounding script) → /elara
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Training Modules: Mindfulness Foundations → /modules/mindfulness
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DT & Crisis Survival → /modules/distress-tolerance
Program Options
Self-Paced Course
Who it’s for: You prefer private, flexible learning you can do anytime.
Modules include:
Mindfulness • STOP/TIPP + Crisis Plan • Emotion Regulation I (ABC PLEASE) • Emotion Regulation II (Opposite Action & Defusion) • Interpersonal Effectiveness (DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST)
What’s included:
Outcome: Confidence using DBT skills in everyday life.
Short videos + scripts + quick skill checks
Printable tools and worksheets
Optional Elara AI practice support
Safety & credits
Scope:Psychoeducation and peer support only — not therapy, diagnosis, or a crisis service.
If you’re in crisis (Australia): 000 • Lifeline 13 11 14 • Suicide Call Back 1300 659 467 • Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 • 13YARN 13 92 76 • Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 • 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
Global: findahelpline.com
Author: Lloyd Taylor | DBT-informed Peer Recovery Worker and Founder, DBT Support Hub
Last updated: October 2025
References:
Linehan M.M. (2015). DBT Skills Training Manual (2nd ed.). Guilford.
Neacsiu A.D. et al. (2014). Dialectical behaviour therapy skills for emotion dysregulation. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 21(4), 363–380.