When you feel anxious or upset, your mind starts going in all directions and soon, your feelings increase and get worse.
Research shows that you can stop those feelings by doing something that makes you feel grounded.
Here is the fastest and simplest way to do this:
Look for something green.
Whether you’re outdoors, in an office or staring at your kid’s messy room, find something green to focus on. It might be a tree or plant, a book, or something in a picture on your wall.
Keep looking at what you found for a minute or so. Then look for something else that’s green. Because green is a calming and nurturing color, your brain slows down and helps you feel grounded again.
Doing this exercise won’t fix the issues you are dealing with, but it buys you some time to think about your next move instead of blowing up or grabbing cookies.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise
Here’s a different option that is also simple and almost guaranteed to calm you down. This exercise involves using your five senses to calm yourself and bring your mind back to the present moment.
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Take a couple deep breaths to get ready.
Then come up with an example of each one of these things, saying them out loud if possible. (The words after each category are simply suggestions to help you think of items that match for you.)
• 5 things you can see (sun, a flag, people)
• 4 things you can feel (feet on the floor, jeans, chair legs)
• 3 things you can hear (clock, computer, birds, cars)
• 2 things you can smell (food cooking, lotion on your skin)
• 1 thing you can taste (toothpaste, chocolate)
Once you finish this exercise, take a couple more deep breaths. Then check in and see how you feel. Most likely, you will be much calmer and ready to continue your day without yelling or overeating.