The 2023-2024 school year is coming to an end, which means deadlines, finals, and scrambling. You can lose touch with your body’s rhythm. Stress is constantly over our heads, consuming our daily life. There is good and bad stress. Good stress is short-term, pushing you to be productive and enhance your performance. Bad stress is the kind that wears you out, is harmful to your health, and makes you anxious. Bad stress comes in two forms. Acute and chronic. Acute is short-term and doesn’t take a heavy toll on your body, so you can easily get your mind out of that headspace. Chronic is when you are repeatedly faced with stress factors in your life. It takes a heavy toll on your body, leading to many health issues such as headaches, insomnia, weight gain, high blood pressure, and more. If you find yourself dealing with what seems to be uncontrollable stress, it’s time to take a step back and learn about grounding techniques.

According to its definition, “Grounding, or earthing, is the process of reconnecting with the Earth to promote healing.” But grounding isn’t just about connecting with the earth; it’s about connecting your mind and body, rewiring your brain for a moment to shake all the bad out. One technique you can use is the five senses. This is a process where you focus on five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. This is a way to distract yourself and shut your brain down when you feel overwhelmed. Other ways to regroup include listening to music, sitting with a pet, or doing a couple of sprints back and forth in front of your house. Rebecca Ripley has some experience with grounding, and she uses “Focal points, breathing, tap touch. I use these when I feel I am going to have a panic attack or know something will trigger one, mostly in crowds.” Focal points can be used to focus intently on one subject around you and only think about that while doing deep breathing. Tap touch is when you repeatedly tap each finger against your thumb so you can focus on that feeling over what your mind is making you feel.

The list goes on, but one way to ease nerves and feel present in your skin is to kick off your shoes and socks and stand in the grass. This can be in your yard or at the park, but feeling the ground beneath your feet and closing your eyes while doing breathwork can draw you back to the present moment. This theory states that electrical charges from the Earth can have a positive impact on your body, your health, and your mood. Ava Agnew says, “I personally will take time sitting in my bed criss-cross and close my eyes and do breath work to calm my anxiety. If it’s nice out, I will put my feet in some grass, physically ground myself, and just feel the earth beneath my feet and get in tune with my body instead of my mind.” Grounding yourself physically is often skimmed past as people believe they don’t have the time and they can’t stop. Ava also mentioned, “I think people definitely steer away in the fear that it’s ‘weird’ and they’re too nervous to feel present in their own body for a couple of moments, afraid of what emotions that might bring forward.”

It’s important to process your stress and find ways that work for you to decompress those feelings. Built-up stress can lead to many physical factors, so next time you are getting in your head, take time to ease your mind and then get back into what you were doing. Never fear your emotions, to heal for your future you need to process the present moment first.

Sources:

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2014/02/teen-stress#:~:text=Many%20teens%20also%20report%20feeling,a%20meal%20due%20to%20stress.
https://summer.harvard.edu/blog/managing-stress-in-high-school/
ummahealth.org/flourish/entries/2021/01/stress-management-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-good-and-bad-stress#:~:text=Good%20stress%20is%20short-term,poor%20concentration%20and%20decreased%20performance.
https://www.health.com/grounding-7968373#:~:text=Grounding%2C%20or%20earthing%2C%20is%20the,recommended%20as%20a%20treatment%20option.
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/grounding-techniques/
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/54321-method/