How to deal with overwhelming emotions.

When you are overwhelmed by emotions, going through a breakup or suffering uncontrollable thoughts and emotions, you can start by using some grounding techniques to anchor yourself in your body.

Grounding Techniques

Plant your feet firmly on the ground (standing or sitting) and notice your connection with the earth.

Push your palms together and notice the muscle tension around your chest and shoulders.

Press down firmly on a table, a railing or against a wall.

Do any isometric exercise that you are familiar with to reinforce your presence in your body.

Change the temperature

If you are experiencing intense emotional pain or there is a strong urge to engage in harmful behaviour, you need a strong crisis intervention strategy. The use of cold has been found to be very effective.

Hold an ice cube in your hand and focus on the sensation.

Place a cold, wet washcloth on the back of your neck.

Dunk your head into a bowl of ice water.

Shift your attention

Shocking your attention into your body is a really good short-term strategy in dangerous times.

Suck on something with a very strong flavour like wasabi, chilli, hot sauce or horseradish. This will instantly bring your attention to your body.

Focus on your senses.

This helps to get you out of your head and keep you in the present.

1) One sense at a time

Choose one sense to concentrate on. It can be sight, sound, smell, taste or touch.

Find one thing to look at, one sound to listen to, one smell to notice, one taste to explore or one thing to touch. Once you have done this, focus your attention on this, and only this, for a few minutes. Your mind will be distracted even during this short exercise. That’s OK. Just notice that your mind has wandered off and bring it back to the sense that you are experiencing.

2) Using all the senses

After you are able to pay attention to one sense, you can try paying attention to all the senses while you engage in doing one task. It could be making a cup of tea, cleaning your teeth or washing the dishes. You can lead yourself through this task by noticing the effect it is having on your senses. For example when making a cup of tea, notice the sound of the kettle as you boil the water, smell the teabag before you put it in the cup, feel the warmth of the cup after you’ve added the hot water, hear the sound of the stirring as you add sugar or honey or milk, taste the flavour of the tea as you sip it.

In summary, when in pain or danger, ground yourself in your body. Then, bring your attention out of your head and into your surroundings using your five senses. The senses are the only things strong enough to compete with the mind for your attention.