Maryn has overthunk herself into oblivion
On anxiety and relying on the senses to find grounding
Last week I wrote briefly about my tendency to overthink myself into oblivion. In a cruelly ironic turn from the universe, this week my anxiety has been a regular, rather inconvenient companion and I have, unfortunately, overthunk myself into oblivion.
So today, I am releasing myself from the pressure no one has placed on me but myself to write something deep, introspective, and insightful. My brain just can't.
Instead, here’s a little grounding practice I sometimes turn to when my anxiety is being a jerk. Some folks call it the “5-4-3-2-1” coping technique, and its purpose is to help you get out of your head and back into your body using your senses.
It goes like this:
Name 5 things you can see
Name 4 things you can touch
Name 3 things you can hear
Name 2 things you can smell
Name 1 thing you can taste
When it comes to intense anxiety, I turn to this coping technique probably more than anything else. I don’t always follow it strictly, but sometimes having the structure of it helps.
Shall we take it for a whirl?
Written on Sunday, August 27th, at around 9:00 PM:
5 things I can see
The glow of the laptop on my hands in our darkened living room
Freddy sitting on the opposite side of the couch (cross-legged because he’s very flexible)
The TV (we just finished watching the Gilmore Girls season 6 finale, iykyk)
Monet’s toys strewn around the rug at our feet
The dim, cool-toned lights illuminating our kitchen counter
4 things I can touch
My very old pink fuzzy socks
My Squishmallow supporting my back (it’s surprisingly ergonomic)
The smooth plastic of my keyboard
The woven upholstery of our couch
3 things I can hear
Crickets chirping outside
The bass of someone’s music playing from a car nearby
Monet pitter-pattering around the kitchen
2 things I can smell
The lingering rainy “outside” smell after Freddy took Monet for her nightly walk
My oversized vintage chambray shirt that I tend to wrap up in on rainy days (it also has a faint “outside” smell from the day’s errands)
1 thing I can taste
The aftertaste of chips and salsa (our Gilmore Girls snack )
And there you have it. Writing about my anxiety does seem to help, so I guess it’s going on the coping techniques list too.
What do you do for your anxiety? What are some things you can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste right now?
Until next time,
Maryn (is probably anxious)
I love the little drawings you included here!!
One of my go-to anxiety things is asking myself, "What's the worst that can happen?" and then logically talking through the answer. Helps me realize the *feeling* is so much worse than the actual thing at hand. I WILL survive a mommy play date because truthfully the worst case situation is... maybe someone thinking I'm a little weird? And I'll keep on living!
oh dear, all the hugs for you! i must play and move when I feel this way! My go-tos are barefoot on the grass, running around w a friend, coffee chats (whether online or offline) with people doing cool work (it reminds me of all the fun wonderful things happening ) and people can be really positive energy :)