5 Grounding Techniques to Reconnect
If you’ve ever found yourself moving through the world on autopilot, feeling “floaty,” disconnected, or strangely detached from your own body, you’re not alone. Many people, if not all, experience moments, or long seasons, of disconnection, especially when they’re dealing with anxiety, trauma, or eating disorder recovery.
Sometimes it shows up as numbness.
Sometimes as feeling outside your body.
Sometimes it’s a sense of being here, but not really here.
And often, this distance is our body's way of protecting ourselves. It can be a way of protecting ourselves from something in the present moment, or a familiar response to a trigger from the past. Even if it feels out of context, it was likely a way your body learned to protect itself in the past.
Grounding techniques can help gently bring you back into the present moment, without forcing, judging, or pushing yourself to “snap out of it.” Instead, think of these practices as soft reminders to yourself that you are safe in the present moment.
Below are supportive ways to reconnect with your body when you feel far away.
Why We Disconnect in the First Place
Before diving into the techniques, it’s important to understand what’s actually happening.
Feeling disconnected can be a sign that your nervous system is overwhelmed and shifting into a protective state by freezing or dissociating. These states are completely normal responses to stress, trauma, or emotional overload.
You might disconnect when:
Emotions feel too big or too fast
Your body doesn’t feel like a safe place
You’re tired, overstimulated, or under-fueled
Old trauma memories are resurfacing
You’re dealing with an eating disorder, and being in your body feels uncomfortable
The goal of grounding is not to become completely embodied, but to help create more flexibility in your nervous system. The goal is not to force ourselves to presence, but to help remind our body of our current context to feel even 5% more present.
Grounding Techniques to Help You Feel More Present and Connected
These practices are gentle, body-led, and accessible designed to help you reconnect. Try them out, and take what helps and leave the rest.
1. Feel Your Feet
Might seem too obvious or a bit literal, but it can help!
Try this:
Place your feet flat on the floor and bring your attention to them.
Notice:
The temperature
The pressure
The texture beneath them
How your weight shifts from heel to toe
Imagine your feet anchoring you to the ground. Maybe you wiggle and stretch your toes and notice the sensations. Try out just noticing your pinky toe before shifting your attention to the rest of the room.
2. Spins on the 5-4-3-2-1 Sensory Reset
You may have heard of the 5-4-3-2-1 rest (5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, ect), but here are other options that I like. When looking around, try to use your whole head, not just your eyes.
Look around the room and notice 3 things like you like looking at or find interesting.
Look around and try to find 2 things in a room you haven’t noticed before or forgot about.
Grab an object and describe using all of your sense. What is the shape, texture, color, smell, ect?
You are using your senses to remind your body of your current environment while also having to use the thinking part of your brain to find and describe something in the here and now.
3. Temperature Change
Temperature changes brings direct sensory information to bring direct feedback to our body that it is here in the present moment.
You can try:
Splashing cool water on your hands
Holding a warm mug
Using a cold pack on your wrists or chest
Stepping outside into fresh air
The goal isn’t to shock your body, but rather give it feedback of the present moment.
4. Weighted Pressure
Feeling disconnected often comes with feeling “floaty” or unmoored.
Weighted pressure can help your body feel contained and held.
Try:
A weighted blanket
A heavy pillow across your lap
Pressing your back into a chair
Wrapping yourself in a blanket “cocoon” style
This creates a sense of boundary and comfort.
5. Name What’s Here
Sometimes grounding comes from simply naming your experience instead of trying to push it away.
Try saying:
“I’m feeling disconnected.”
“My body feels far away right now.”
“I am safe and, I’m having a nervous system response.”
“This will pass.”
Naming brings you into the present moment with compassion, not judgment.
A Gentle Reminder: You Don’t Need to Force Connection
Some days these tools will work instantly.
Other days, they might help only a little bit.
There even might be days where they don’t work at all.
All are okay.
Your nervous system needs time, practice, and safety to reconnect.
The goal isn’t to be perfectly grounded; it’s to offer yourself small moments of presence.
If You Struggle With Feeling Connected Often…
This disconnection is incredibly common for people with:
Eating disorders
Trauma histories
Anxiety
Burnout or chronic stress
A lifetime of feeling unsafe in their bodies
You are not alone, and this experience makes sense.
Therapy can help you build a safer, more compassionate relationship with your body at your own pace, in your own time.
If you’re in Washington or Massachusetts and want support, I’d be honored to walk with you as you learn to feel at home in your body again.
It’s possible to feel connected again.
