When anxiety gets to be over the top, people develop symptoms such as dizziness, heart palpitations, sweats, shallow breathing, and stomach aches. It can feel out of control and very scary. Grounding exercises help people come out of their heads and into their bodies. It helps take anxiety down a few notches.
Mindfulness works for some people and one of the techniques is simply following your breath. One simple exercise may be to place one hand on your chest and firmly place another hand on a hard surface like a wall or desk. Take 5 long deep breaths through your nose and exhale through your puckered lips. Feel your chest rise and fall.
Art therapy exercises can be very grounding. For example, take a piece of paper and use whatever mark-making materials you wish, like markers, paints, crayons or pastels. Make a mandala of the colours of the rainbow. Think school days, ROYGBIV, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. Look around your room to see what objects match these colours and create them draw them on a sheet. This art will likely not be pretty but it helps to ground us in our bodies and here and now.
If you would like more information about being an art therapy client, book a free get acquainted chat today, by calling 519 827 9237 or booking online click here.