Sunday, June 21, 2015

Grounding

One of the more detrimental symptoms of PTSD, I think, is the flashback. The survivor literally lives in the past: as if the trauma was happening around him or her. It can be excruciating and even dangerous. The survivor leaves the present world and enters the world of the trauma: sights, sounds, smells.

The brain can't distinguish between the past world of the trauma and the present world, but the survivor can pull through the flashback through grounding. Grounding takes some self-discipline, and if the survivor's loved one(s) are around, they can help. Grounding is like meditation: it's pretty easy to do, but it takes practice to develop effective techniques.

I found a great site that has a handy PDF file for PTSD grounding techniques by Lisa Najavits. There's a bunch of grounding techniques that engage all the human senses, but it's important to note in the first sentence, "Grounding is a set of simple strategies to detach from emotional pain".

I think we tend to think of detachment as a bad thing, especially if we're talking about it as a form of dissociation (another set of PTSD symptoms). In this case, grounding is a way to distract or bring back the survivor from the past back into the present. Again, it takes some time to develop, but here are three things that are super simple to do:


  1. Try starting with some simple deep breathing from the diaphragm. Hold your breath and silently count to 10 slowly.
  2. Look at things around the room that you are in, name them, and describe them. Play the "5-4-3-2-1" game described on this site. The whole idea behind grounding is to engage the present environment around the survivor. This technique has helped my wife and I get through flashbacks. I'll ask, "Do you hear the fountain outside?" or "Do you see the cat under the chair?" or "Can you hear my voice?" It helps with keeping the survivor in the present.
  3. If you can, have your survivor run cool or warm water over their hands. This is designed simply to get the present senses engaged.
There are hosts of other techniques and suggestions mentioned in the two links above, so your options are virtually limitless. It's important for your survivor to find techniques that work for them. Remember, It does no good to invalidate the flashback. Instead, it's better not to resist it. Help your survivor get through it by gently (keyword here) asking your survivor about grounding techniques. Always keep safety at the forefront, especially during flashbacks. Grounding is a great way to perpetuate safety.