Here are some simple grounding steps one can take to reconnect with self and to the present.
You may already be using an effective means of coping – bravo – this is meant to encourage and support your personal process. Do as much as feels safe in the place you are in right now – you may be surprised by how much that is!
Take your time; allow each thought to settle in. You are whole and you are sound, regardless of how you are feeling right now.
Notice your skin all over: open up to sensation
Are you breathing? Holding the breath blocks feelings; while this may feel protective, it can impede your recovery. Go back to the first step, start again without holding your breath.
Include the awareness that you are sitting or standing on the ground, on the earth
Acknowledge your relationship to the earth through the grounding effects of gravity. As you let go of holding up your weight, your system responds by lightly expanding up and out. You are safe to “undo” because you are supported.
Are you breathing? Breathing is easier when we have released some of the pressure of working against (or collapsing into) gravity
Now include awareness of the space you can see in this moment. Lightly remind yourself that you are more substantial when you expand into the space than you are when you contract from it.
Now incorporate the space outside your visual field in this moment, hear the sounds and let them pass by.
Notice how you feel while continuing to be as present as possible with the awareness you’ve gained. I hope this is helpful – feel free to pass it on to anyone you think can make use of it.