How Grounding Helps With My Triggers
Have you ever had one of those moments where you just take in the world? You think wow, it’s so beautiful, I’m just a tiny part of it. Well I’ve had a few of those moments and I want to seek them out more.
My first moment was my first time on an aeroplane when I was around 12/3 years old. I remember going into the cockpit with the pilot and seeing the blanket of clouds around me. I feel lucky to have had that experience as a child because it was magical.
The second was when I was 18 and went gorge walking in the Yorkshire Dales. It was breath taking walking through the crack of the earth and looking up at the sky. Gorge walking is about squeezing your way up a gorge by climbing, rock hopping and jumping in water. It was very surreal and felt like I was as small as an ant might, it’s an experience I need to repeat.
Those moments are imprinted in my mind and I know the next ones are waiting for me when I go travelling some day. But for now I take in what’s around me, when I see a field of blooming wild flowers I see the colour and clearly the invitation to capture it. I recognise these moments can also be in awe of historical buildings, architect and events.
To me these moments are important because they ground me, it reminds me that I’m a part of something much bigger. It also means that the memories I have held onto that happened before the abusive relationship I expericed haven’t been forgotten, my past experiences are not a waste.
The purpose of grounding techniques is to allow you to step away from negative thoughts or flashbacks. It can decrease the intensity of your feelings by distracting them using the five senses.
When I have a trigger or when I’m going through a low point this is what helps me. These moments aren’t always available when I’m in need of them so I seek them out wherever I am. I go outside and look at the green in the flowers, I soak in the sky and listen to the birds. I breathe and think I am no longer with him, it’s ok, I am here now and you can get through this.
Don’t get me wrong, this has taken years and at first it wouldn’t have worked. But this is where I am now, it’s almost like taking me out for a reality check because I certainly don’t want to feel as if I’m back there in that situation. I have been able to take these steps forward because of The Recovery Toolkit, that was my starting point to find the tools I needed to help me live my life.
My weekends are spent walking and visiting new places, it offers a mental break from a busy week. It almost feels like a preventative because if I don’t go out at the weekend it reflects in the week ahead. It feels like it becomes a natural state of mind and something that isn’t as forced but is a part of my subconscious.
Do you use grounding techniques?
Follow my work, the campaigns I get involved in, organisations I support and my journey.
Success!First Name
Last Name
The post How Grounding Helps With My Triggers appeared first on Jennifer Gilmour.
