What are some good grounding techniques?

I just had a traumatic reaction I hadn't had in months, took me a couple of hours and I'm still recovering but I usually feel lonely when that happens so once I was able to get back on the computer and type, I wanted to mention it here so I don't feel alone and also ask what your techniques are?

I stayed on the floor for the duration of most intensity then again on the floor and my bed for the following to it, I hugged myself, told myself to breathe, reminded myself where I was, who I was, that everything passes, remembered to feel the ground under me, telling myself past is past, touched my body, told myself I'm not my feelings, and told myself to allow the pain come and go cause holding on to it does not help and hurts me more.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's just...just awful.

Do you have a mantra that calms you down? A saying? A prayer? Favorite amendment to the constitution? I know that sounds kind of lame, but it's helped me.

I think C-span is good for re-orienting yourself in the present--day, year, name of the president, etc. It's so mind-numbingly boring (at least for me) that it's somehow reassuring. And I almost never find any of the content upsetting (unlike news networks).

If I'm having derealization along with it, I go outside and dig a hole. The world can't be a sound stage if there's more than a few inches of dirt.

I hope you find something that brings you relief.

Thank you so much Argonautomobile, your sympathetic words and well wishes mean a lot to me, thank you very much.

It never occurred to me to get C-Span, that's such a good idea, other channels make me more anxious with MTV type editing and loud sounds, but that is so repetitive and boring it can actually calm me and keep me grounded.

I've tried reading the motivational posters on ts wall or close my eyes if I start to feel dizzy and disoriented. I'll be eager to read what others do too.

Have you ever tried 4 square breathing? You breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of four, breathe out for 4 and then hold for 4. I don't think there is anything magical about the 4, but it does give something to focus on.
I sometimes look for a certain color of thing in the room I am in, and count that as one. Then I look at that thing again and count it as one and look for something the same color and count it as two. Then look at the first think and cont on, look at the second thing and count two, then look for a third thing, etc.
Some times saying tha alphabet backwards can help
Rubbing an ice cube on my forearm
Sucking on a sour or strong minty candy

I know what you mean about other channels and the loud sounds and bright lights and whatnot. That **** can freak me out, too.

You can also stream c-span for free online. And everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--is archived, so if you don't like what's currently on, you can just choose something randomly from the library. The people who do the Washington Journal segments have the best calm, boring human voices. It's soothing somehow.

And what surprises me is how often I turn it on in a panic and then, like magic, I suddenly realize I'm completely calm and in fact have spent the last ten, twenty minutes actually listening to, like, agricultural policy according to the head of the Wheatgrowers Association or some ****.

Paying attention to, and understanding, some of the driest programming on there is a great intellectual grounding technique that can be particularly helpful for people who, like me, have trouble with physical grounding techniques. So, so many grounding exercises are about embodiment, and embodiment can be downright terrifying sometimes, especially if you're prone to a health anxiety or body memories or whatever.

Anyway, good luck with everything.

I love the cspan idea. Thanks

Since I started sorting all this out I can't watch tv. The news really stresses me out and triggers me. I hang out with my phone and my music mostly. Am I hiding?

Not sure where that question came from, but, am I?

I'm still trying to figure this out myself and that jarred me in some way.

I hope you find something that works for you!!

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Argonautomobile, that was a great post - and it made me realize that's one of the reasons I put on NPR so much!

I like what Argonaut wrote above. It resonates with a technique one t taught me, which was counting - you simply count any and all objects around you. It could be the panels in a wall, the tiles on the floor, the number of loose objects in the room... anything at all really, as long as you are counting something physical that you can see in the environment around you. The t told me that the intellectual part of the brain operates separately to emotional response, so to override one you just activate the other. It works nearly all the time for me.

Progressive muscle relaxation
Breathing techniques
Naming 5 things in a room

When I need to ground myself in T's office, I look at all of the book spines on her shelves and find the letters of the alphabet. She prefers me to say them aloud, but sign language and pointing is quieter and preferred by me.

For me it was really feeling my feet on the floor and looking around the room for something that reminded me that I was there and focus on that. Also doing some breathing with my T and muscle relaxation.