What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a mental state that can be achieved by focussing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations. Grounding techniques help you to stay ‘in the moment’ when your mind and body are returning to a place of trauma stress.
- Image from Trauma is Really Strange by Steve Haines. Copyright Steve Haines 2016, Illustrations copyright Sophie Standing 2016. All rights reserved. This image may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information and storage retrieval system, without prior written consent from the publisher. Reproduced with the permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.
Why practice mindfulness and grounding?
Trauma impacts our body and brain. When reminded of trauma, people respond in different ways. Some feel ‘flooded’ with memories, or emotions like fear, sadness or anger. Others ‘check out’ emotionally, feel numb, or disconnected from what’s happening around them. Often, people have bodily sensations, like their heart racing, sweating, sudden pain or aching, or shortness of breath. These are normal responses to surviving trauma, but they can be disruptive and upsetting.
Practicing mindfulness and grounding techniques can help you to stay in the ‘here and now’ and regain a feeling of safety and control.
Mindful communication with one’s body helps link feelings with sensory experiences and learned emotional memory; brings us back from ruminating to the present. We are observer to ourselves rather than captured by it.
'In order to adapt we must organise our experience such that the actual present feels the most real and relevant.'
Van der Hart et al, 2006.