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What are breathing exercises and grounding techniques?
When we’re overwhelmed, struggling, or feeling stressed or anxious it can be difficult to think clearly. Breathing and grounding are two skills you can use in those moments to help you reach a calmer place so you can make decisions about what to do next.
You can use breathing and grounding in any situation where you feel overwhelmed – for example, at home, during exams, or even on public transport.
Watch: How to manage anxiety by understanding your brain
Learn about how what happens in your body when you feel anxious – and why grounding and breathing techniques can be a helpful way to respond.
Sometimes people seem to suggest that breathing or grounding are quick fixes, but we know that’s not usually a helpful way to think about them. They can be really powerful tools for helping to reduce overwhelm and panic – but they’re about helping you feel safer and in control in the moment, rather than being a long-term solution.
How do grounding techniques help?
Grounding techniques help ‘bring you back’ to the current moment and focus on the world around you, which can be really helpful if you’re feeling overwhelmed by your thoughts or feelings.
How do breathing exercises help
Breathing exercises can be grounding, in that they help you focus on the current moment. They have the added bonus of calming down your breathing, which can get fast and shallow when you’re anxious or overwhelmed. By breathing more calmly, you’re helping your body feel safer so you can think more clearly about what you want to do next.
Breathing exercises and techniques you can try
There are lots of different breathing techniques. You might find some of them more helpful than others – and if you find any of them uncomfortable, you can stop and try something else.
If you struggle with your breathing (for example, because you have a health condition like asthma) you should talk to your doctor or nurse before trying new techniques.
You could try these breathing techniques:
Five-finger breathing
This is a technique where you use a pointer finger to trace the shape of your other hand.
You slowly breathe in as you move your point finger up the side of each finger (or thumb), and slowly breathe out as you move your pointer finger back down towards your palm. You can keep repeating this for as long as you like.
Box breathing
This technique involves imagining drawing a square. As though you’re drawing the four sides of a square you:
- breathe in for four seconds
- hold your breath for four seconds
- breathe out for four seconds
- hold your breath for four seconds
You can repeat this as many times as you like.
4-7-8 breathing
This technique involves counting your breathing as you:
- breathe in through your nose for four seconds
- hold your breath for seven seconds
- breathe out through your mouth for eight seconds
Belly breathing
This technique is all about feeling how your stomach moves as you breathe deeply. To give it a go:
- Rest a hand gently on your stomach
- Take a deep breath in through your nose for about three seconds, and feel your stomach gently expand
- Pause for about one second
- Breathe out through your mouth for about three seconds, and feel how your stomach ‘deflates’
You can do this as many times as you like. Some people find it helpful to imagine they have a balloon in their stomach that they’re inflating and deflating.
Blowing bubbles
Some people keep a bottle of bubbles at home – they can help you to breath calmly, because you have to take deep breaths and blow out slowly to blow the bubbles. It can also be calming to watch the bubbles move through the air.
People often think of bubbles as being childish, but it’s OK for teenagers, young people, and adults to use them too if they help them to feel calmer (or bring them joy).
Pretending to blow out candles
Some people find it helpful to imagine they’re trying to blow out lots of candles – or blow out slowly, to keep one candle flickering for as long as possible.
These videos have examples of breathing exercises you can try.
Lots of apps also have tools to help you with breathing techniques:
Apps for mental health
Explore trusted apps that can help you feel calmer, manage symptoms, and find support when things feel overwhelming.
Grounding techniques you can try
There are different ways you can try to ground yourself. You might find that you find some of these more helpful than others.
Try the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method – name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
Try holding a small object you can focus on, like a fidget toy or a keyring.
Try looking for colours – try to spot something that’s red, then something that’s orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. You can pick whatever colours you like, but the colours of the rainbow can be a helpful place to start.
Try tensing and relaxing your muscles one at a time, starting from your toes and working up (or from your head and working down). Are any muscles especially tense?
How can you get the most out of breathing and grounding?
It might take you a while to feel comfortable with these techniques – or to figure out which work for you – and that’s OK. You can make the most of these techniques by:
Being realistic
It’s OK if you only try these techniques for a little while, especially at first – and remember they’re designed to help you feel calmer and safer in the moment, not to fix everything. It’s also OK if you find some of them more helpful than others.
Practising them when you feel OK
Using these techniques is like learning any skill – it can take time to feel comfortable and confident. Practising them when you feel calmer can make it easier to use them when things are stressful or overwhelming.
Adapting them to work for you
Everyone is different, so you might need to adapt the techniques a bit to work for you. For example, you might adjust the amount of time you take in breathing exercises or use different senses in grounding techniques.
Where to get more help if you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed
If you’re struggling with feeling anxious or overwhelmed, you do not have to manage on your own.
Breathing and grounding can be a helpful place to start – but it’s also important that you get the help you need.
Talking about your wellbeing
It can feel difficult to start a conversation about your wellbeing, so we’ve put together some information and advice about how to open up if you’re struggling.
Find support
Find trusted services that can support you when things feel overwhelming.
Text NATTER for help
Anyone can text ‘NATTER’ to 85258 to seek
help, wherever they are in the UK. It’s a free, anonymous service and available 24/7.
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