If you are struggling with chronic pain, anxiety, or other distressing feelings, learning how to redirect your thoughts can be an important coping skill. Grounding yourself isn’t always easy. It may take some time before the techniques work well for you, but don’t give up on them.

Here are a few strategies to try:

  1. Counting: counting can be an easy and automatic way to redirect your thoughts. Observe your environment and find something to count. Maybe how many cars you see, maybe how many tiles on the floor, or how many people in the room. Whatever you can find, start counting and notice how your thoughts shift away from the distressing feeling.
  2. Categories: pick any category, for example “animals” and then in your mind start listing as many things in that category as you can. If you run out of ideas change the category – it can be anything, “types of cheese,” “states in the USA,” “colors,” whatever comes to mind first. This will shift your focus away from the difficult thoughts or feelings.
  3. Sensory input: distract from your current thoughts by touching something close to you and focusing on the texture, feel the soft blanket on the couch, rub your fingers together and notice the sensation, pick a rock up from the ground and feel the texture of its surface. This will help you to focus on sensation outside of your body and give feedback to your nervous system.
  4. Use an anchoring phrase or mantra: this can be whatever you would like it to be, some examples being “My name is ___, I am ____ years old, I live at ____,” you can continue with grounding details about your life until you begin to calm down. Alternatively, you may choose a mantra that you can repeat to yourself, “I am safe, I am strong, I deserve calmness.” Choose something that feels relevant and grounding for you.
  5. Take a Walk: part of redirecting your thoughts and emotions might mean changing the environment that you are currently in, particularly if it is stressful. Moving around also releases natural endorphins which help our body to relax and improve our mood. It may seem simple but taking a walk can be one of the best remedies in many different circumstances.
  6. Gratitude journaling: The process of writing down what you are grateful for every day can have a positive impact on your life and also on your outlook on the future. Take a few minutes out of each day to list 3-5 things that you are grateful for. It can be as simple as, “I am grateful for a good night’s sleep,” “I am grateful for a home cooked meal,” “I am grateful for my daily cup of coffee,” whatever it may be. This can help bring attention to the abundance of good things in your life and shift the focus away from negative thoughts.

Keep in mind that while these are great strategies to cope with your feelings, there was a reason why you got caught up in the negative thought cycle in the first place. It is important to get to the root cause of your emotions, which can take some time. It may also be important to practice these exercises when you aren’t experiencing distress so that when you want to use them to cope in the moment you are prepared.

Don’t suffer in silence. Talk with your healthcare provider if you are suffering from overwhelming feelings of distress.

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