As someone who is still in the recovery process, I am always actively seeking new ways to cope. I struggle a lot with anxiety and feeling overwhelmed in public settings.
I’ve talked before about grounding. It’s a technique used to help calm anxiety and bring you back into the moment. For those that may not know what it is, grounding is when you use all your senses to ‘ground’ you. I typically look for 5 things I can see, 4 things I can touch, 3 things I can smell, 2 things I can hear and 1 thing I can taste. There are many variations used for grounding- this is just my preference when I am without my kit. Sometimes we are faced with surroundings that it may be difficult to accomplish grounding in. To help combat those settings I made a grounding kit that I often carry with me. This is what I have so far; for sight I have pictures of my kitten, for touch I have a fidget cube, a squishy shark, and a bracelet from one of my brothers, for hearing I have headphones, for smell I have a candle and scented hand sanitizer, for taste I have sour candy, gum and dark chocolate.
I also have a card in there with numbers to call while I’m in crisis or in need of extra support. I do plan to add some more items and get a more practical holder. I have used this multiple times while I am out and starting to get overwhelmed and have found it to be quite helpful.
I think this is a great project for anyone who often feels panicked in unfamiliar settings! What other items can you use in a grounding kit?