Although retirement should be a time for rest, significant life changes can cause mental stress for some Merced seniors. Good news: simple techniques for grounding your anxiety can help you keep your mind on the present moment and calm your body.
According to Better Health Channel, around one-third of people will experience a panic attack at some point, so having tried and tested relaxation methods available to you could protect you from a scary experience.
Using anxiety grounding techniques, you can train your mind so that when you're facing panic attacks, you can use your grounding skills to return to the present. Interested in learning more about this effective relaxation method? This article defines grounding and outlines its practice.
Grounding techniques are a simple stress relief method that is a reliable way of coping with anxiety. These relaxation skills are so powerful that they can stop a panic attack dead in its tracks. Of course, it takes practice; these methods are only useful for coping with anxiety when practiced by an experienced user.
According to the Mayo Clinic, panic attacks can begin without warning. Your heart races and you struggle to breathe. While panic attacks aren't usually harmful in the medical sense, in the moment, they can make people feel like they need an ambulance.
Grounding techniques allow you to shift your attention away from the stressful thoughts. By taking a moment to contemplate the present moment, you can cleanse your mind of those panic-inducing hypotheticals.
Those who are experienced with anxiety grounding techniques can achieve a sense of total relaxation in the most dire emotional circumstances. Clearly, this is a useful tool in the varied toolbox of senior mental health strategies.
Unlike solutions like medication or counselling, grounding works immediately and doesn't require assistance from anyone else. You don't need any fancy equipment, just a quiet space for you to relax and focus on your thoughts.
The National Institute of Mental Health states that by giving the brain the appropriate signals, you can avoid spiraling into panic. Learning what these signals feel like is the basis of anxiety grounding techniques.
Grounding is backed by scientific evidence. The technique is proven to block the production of stress hormones like cortisol.
Basically, the grounding process means taking your mind off whatever is bothering you. It's especially good at distracting you from abstract worries like your bank account being overdrawn or something happening to your grandchildren.
It is meant to disrupt the automatic responses that come from the less sophisticated part of your brain. By engaging the more logical parts of cognition, seniors can learn to control their emotions and keep their anxiety under control.
According to the URMC, the grounding process involves 5 distinct steps that utilize the 5 senses. First, you focus on what you can see. You look around the room and identify 5 different objects. In the next stage, you'll focus on touch, but you'll only look at 4 sensations this time.
Next, you'll consider what you can hear - 3 things this time. Then, 2 things that you can smell, concluding with 1 thing that you can taste. The act of leveling all of these different sensations and consciously reducing the number as you cycle through the senses is complex enough that it engages the frontal cortex part of the brain and dampens anxious activity in the amygdala.
Initially, these ideas might seem kind of wacky. After all, how can such a simple exercise be more effective than medications or supplements? But if you try these techniques for yourselves, you'll see that they're a very effective way to reset your emotions and avert a downward spiral of anxiety.
When you feel anxious, you can get stuck in a thought loop in which your worries start to stack and combine. Before you know it, you're panicking over something outlandishly unlikely, but in the moment, it feels terrifying and real. Successfully completing a grounding routine can help you think logically and clearly, even when you're on the edge of a panic attack.
Anyone can learn how to ground themselves successfully, but seniors might face some unique challenges. The system relies on five senses. But for some people with sensory impairment, there are obvious barriers.
For example, for someone with significant hearing loss, it's going to be quite difficult to think of things you can hear in your environment. Thankfully, the technique is very adaptable, and you could replace the sound stage of the process with something like movement.
You're also free to skip a step entirely and just do four, without harming the effectiveness of the technique. It's all about finding what works best for you.
Seniors with mobility issues might find themselves stuck in a room with limited opportunity for varied sensory stimulation. And in such cases, it's possible to put together a grounding kit that has things like a room therapy set and interesting and varied textures. While grounding techniques have some effective ways to prevent panic, you should be careful about using them.
In a potential emergency, if you experience chest pain, trouble breathing, or fainting, it could indicate a serious medical episode and not an anxiety attack. If you experience any of these symptoms, or if you're ever in doubt, you should always call 911.
Anxiety grounding techniques help because they focus your attention on something you can control. Through the use of textures, sounds, scents, and tastes, you can interrupt the body alarm and encourage slower breathing.
These simple tools, used consistently, rebuild confidence and ease daily stress and anxiety. Here at The Hampshire, we teach residents straightforward anti-anxiety tools that actually help. As part of Independent Living with Supportive Services, these wellness resources are included.
Veterans and spouses can also benefit from our Special Veterans Program discount, often worth thousands per year. Curious what life here feels like? Contact us to arrange a tour.