If you are struggling with stress and anxiety, you could try some of the grounding techniques
below this chart
| Feeling | Reason |
|---|---|
| Racing heart/heart palpitations | Your heart is working hard pumping blood to get oxygen and glucose to your brain, arms and legs preparing you to run or fight |
| Fast breathing. Chest pain or a tight feeling in your chest | Your chest muscles are working to help oxygenate your blood. |
| Headaches | Your brain is working overtime. Your body is sending more blood to the brain to prepare it for action. |
| Tension in your neck and shoulders, shaky legs and arms | Your body is getting ready for action so more blood is being sent to your larger muscle groups causing them to tense and shake. |
| Butterflies in tummy, feeling sick | There’s now less blood in your stomach and intestines, making it feel fluttery. |
| Numbness, tingly toes and fingers | Your body has sent blood to your vital organs, so there’s less blood in your fingers and toes, causing them to tingle. |
| Being sick or having an upset stomach | Your brain releases neurotransmitters as part of the fight or flight response. When some of these enter your gut, they can upset it, causing vomiting or an upset stomach. |
| Dry mouth, tight throat | During periods of stress, the body creates more acid, affecting the production of saliva, making your mouth dry and your throat tight |
| Sweating/hot flushes | Your adrenal glands are producing adrenaline, which can make you hot, causing flushes and sweating |
| Tiredness | The nervous system uses up your extra energy, leaving you feeling tired. |
| Feeling tearful | A normal reaction to worry and the physical symptoms of stress. |
| Can’t concentrate, forgetful, difficulty sleeping, ringing in your ears, strange taste/smells | Your nervous system is overloaded. Your brain is trying to process too much information at once. |
| Zoning out, dissociating, losing time or consciousness | Your whole system is completely overwhelmed. It shuts down to protect you from something it believes is a threat. |
| Blurred vision and dilated pupils | Your pupils get bigger to give your eyes the time to focus on close-up details and see your surroundings better. |
To help deal with stress and anxiety, you could try the following grounding techniques to help feel more
calm.
First: close your eyes and assess how you are, from your feet upwards, your emotions, feelings and
thoughts in the present moment.
Second: focus on your breath. Concentrate on each in-breath and each out-breath.
Third: widen your awareness out again to your whole body and the space around you. Notice the sounds,
smells, air temperature.
Open your eyes. How do you feel now?
Or this short exercise can help bring you into the current moment if you are caught up in thought or worries. You will need a chair or somewhere to sit:
Feet – drop your attention down to your feet, feel the contact with the ground. Move your feet around on the floor, concentrate on the firmness of the floor. Curl up your toes for a few seconds, and notice the sensation
Chair – notice the feeling of sitting on the chair, and the contact you have with it. Feel how the chair is
supporting you.
If you are concerned about other signs of stress such as panic attacks and flashbacks, please see our
separate page on these, which has some techniques to help you cope.
