Stop, ground, and refocus

Knowing how to calm yourself through your senses is an easy way to stop your anxious thoughts. Sandra Bollen-Hughes expands on how to: stop, ground, and refocus.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Here or there? 

The human brain is unique on the animal spectrum in its ability to project creative scenarios into the future. This allows a much lengthier ability to plan and prepare for events and needs. With the twirls and swirls of our grey matter we can plan days, years, or decades in advance. 

The advantages and disadvantages of this are clear: my dog on her way to the vet tends to be very happy until we turn the corner into the vet’s rooms. I, on the other hand, feel anxious for days in advance of my yearly dentist appointment. 

Our remarkable brains are able, in a moment, to disembody our thoughts from the here and now, thrusting them into the there and then. This is a powerful tool because it opens up all sorts of opportunities for planning and organising your life around upcoming challenges. But it has its down sides, as any of you who have fretted over upcoming scans or medical procedures well know. 

To body or disembody?

The skill our marvellous brains have not yet managed to perfect is the ability to discern between real immediate threat and those relegated to the future. The brain’s close tie to the body means it can’t stop the cascade of physiological responses that naturally occur as you think about future threats. Your lower brain, recognising that you’re going to face some sort of threat, wants to react immediately to your needs and so triggers adrenal responses and the fight or flight reactions that go with it. Your disembodied future predictions have a direct and immediate impact on your body in the here and now.

This whirlpool of anxiety tunes you out from the environment as the focus of your mental energy becomes the dreaded thoughts. 

Your senses are a very useful tool for breaking this cycle and helping you return your mind to the here and now.

Grounding to the here and now

You may have heard about grounding techniques to manage anxiety and stress. The core factor in most of the techniques is to focus your mental energy on current sensory experiences. 

Grounding techniques include focusing on sounds, sights, tactile, and olfactory experiences. This makes a great deal of sense if you realise that you are focusing mental energy on the “here and now” and away from the “there and then”. This interrupts the brain’s automatic protective reactions. 

Recognising the whirlpool

My advice to cancer warriors when facing up to the challenges of the journey, is that when you catch yourself swirling amidst a whirlpool of anxious thoughts about what could happen, and fears arises from the unknown, do three things: stop, ground, and refocus. 

The first step is to recognise the anxious thoughts. Stop them in their tracks. Tell yourself, “STOP!” 

Senses in action

Then you need to trust your senses to ground you back to the here and now. Listen for sounds around you. Look for colours and textures that you can see and touch. Sniff the air for odours and scents. Observe the taste in your mouth. Touch something and notice its texture. If you are still, feel the furniture supporting you. If you are moving, be aware of your body in motion. In doing so, you soothe your brain away from untimely reactivity into a more focused grounded space. 

Refocus

The last step is to refocus your thoughts. You can even speak calming thoughts to yourself at this point: Right now, I’m safe. As I lie here, I’m secure. I’m warm and comfy. I have doctors who care. 

Having a good understanding of how your brain and body work together can be a very useful tool in the toolbox of coping. Knowing how to calm yourself through your senses is one of the easiest you can use and is a powerful one for grounding and escaping the whirlpool of anxiety.

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