How to feel safe
Wellness is not a trend… Here are some tips to make wellness your lifestyle through simple everyday grounding techniques with our senses to help us feel safe and grounded.
Connection
- Spend time talking to a trusted person
- Cuddle a pet or loved one
- Spend time around others who you feel safe with
- Do an activity you enjoy with others, eg watching a film or cooking
Co-regulation happens when we feel safe with others, which helps us feel safe in ourselves.
Touch
- A hot water bottle or warm mug
- Blankets, pillows or comfort toy
- Grounded self-touch; hands on your belly, heart space, tracing your hands or feeling your arms
- Touching sensory objects like fidget tools, stones, jewellery or textured objects
Sound
- Humming or singing to ourselves
- Sighing out loud
- Listening to music
- Vocalising
- White noise or different frequencies
- Listening to nature sounds like birds singing or cats purring (Finding these sounds online or in real life)
Sound
- Box breathing – (Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and then breathe out for 4 seconds. – Repeat as much as is helpful)
- Long exhale
- Sighing out loud
- Deep belly breathing
Movement
- Stretching
- Grounding by walking on grass barefoot
- Rocking side to side
- Dancing
- Swaying
- Experimenting in any movement that feels good, freeing and expressive
Visualisation
- Imagine a safe space
- Ground through nature imagery
- Picture a calming colour, space, trusted person, pet or anything that feels safe
Feeling safe in our bodies helps us to feel safe in our minds, this is called somatically working from the bottom up.
Because we can’t think our way into safety or feeling okay, our nervous system and body needs to feel safe too.
If you want to connect to talk about 1:1 confidential counselling sessions you are welcome to reach out to my email for a no obligation conversation to see if we can work together – Laura@LauraWilliamsCounselling.co.uk