Whether it’s multiplying by threes, saying the alphabet backwards or reciting the lyrics of a song you like, repetition can be a helpful distraction technique. These activities require concentration and can help redirect your focus away from stressful thoughts or emotions.

If you need help trying to sleep, you can try listing everything you did throughout the day in reverse.

Similar to an affirmation, an anchoring phrase is a statement intended to interrupt negative or intrusive thoughts and bring you back to the present moment. You can either repeat the statement in your mind or say it out loud.

For example, you could use: ‘I'm Full Name. I'm X years old. I live in X city. Today is Monday, 19 June.’

You can also try phrases that challenge unhelpful or distressing thoughts.

For example: ‘My thoughts are not always true. I don't have to believe all negative thoughts or do that uncomfortable thing right now.’

Continue with this for as long as you like or until you notice your mind calming.

Separating facts from opinions can help you feel grounded during stressful situations. To do this, you can think of yourself as a reporter who needs to stay objective about a story.

For example, instead of saying, ‘This is so scary right now’, you could say:

‘I have a presentation in one hour. I will need to speak in front of ten people. I have a past history of being scared. Right now, I feel my heart rate increasing and my stomach tightening.’

Journaling your thoughts and feelings is a helpful way to release your stress and worries onto a page. Journaling can also act as a self-reflection tool.

You may start to identify themes, unhelpful thought patterns or behaviours. By creating a space to let out your thoughts and feelings, you may begin to understand yourself better.

If putting pen to paper isn't your thing, you could try journaling in your phone's notes app or recording voice memos of how you're feeling.

Mindfulness exercises use your senses as anchors to reconnect you to yourself and the world around you. Here are a few examples of mindfulness exercises:

Five senses check-in: Look for 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.

Mindful walk: Take a slow walk outside and focus on using your senses. Listen to the sounds around you, feel the ground beneath your feet, and notice any smells in the air. Look at the colours and shapes of the objects around you.

Mindful eating: Choose a small snack, like a piece of chocolate or a fruit slice. Before eating it, take a moment to look at it carefully, smell it, and feel its texture. Then, take small bites and savour each one, paying attention to the taste and how it feels in your mouth.

Cloud watching: Lie down on a grassy area or sit comfortably and look up at the sky. Watch the clouds as they move across the sky, noticing their shapes and colours. See if you can find any familiar shapes, like animals or objects, in the clouds.

Exploring textures: Gather a few objects with different textures, such as a smooth stone, a soft piece of fabric, and a rough piece of paper. Close your eyes, pick up each object, and explore its texture with your fingers. Pay attention to how they feel different in your hands.

If you find yourself becoming overwhelmed or panicked while sitting at your desk, in a meeting room or at home, it can be helpful to focus on what you can feel.

For example, you could:

• Push your feet into your shoes or against the floor below you. If you’d like, you can push each toe down individually.
• Grab the fabric of your clothing and feel the stitching, texture, or hardware
• Place your hands on the table and notice how it feels against your palms and fingertips.

Box breathing is a way of taking slow, purposeful breaths that can make you feel relaxed and calm. See above for our guide to this deep breathing technique.

A body scan (sometimes called progressive muscle relaxation) is a method that helps you relax by intentionally tensing and releasing different muscle groups, making you feel calmer and more at ease.

Here’s how to do a body scan:

1. Find a quiet place to sit or lie down in a comfortable spot
2. Take a few slow and deep breaths to relax
3. Begin by squeezing your toes and feet as tight as you can for a few seconds, then let go and feel the tension release
4. Now, tense up your calf muscles, hold for a moment, and then let go
5. Tense your thigh muscles, then release
6. Make tight fists with your hands, hold, and then relax
7. Now, bring your shoulders up to your ears, hold, and then let them drop down
8. Scrunch your face tightly, then release all the facial muscles
9. Take a few more deep breaths, feeling the relaxation spreading through your body.

If you want to feel even more relaxed, you can go through the steps again. And if you'd like guidance, you can find guided body scans on mindfulness apps like Calm.

Doing gentle activities like yoga and stretching can help you relax and stay focused on the here and now. When you move your body and take deep breaths at the same time, you become more aware of how your body feels.

Here’s a simple one you can try called the seated spinal twist:

1. Sit in a chair or on the ground, looking straight ahead, and place your hands on your thighs
2. Put your right hand on your left knee and slowly twist your upper body to the left, using your tummy
3. Take three deep breaths
4. Come back to the centre for a moment, facing forward
5. Now, put your left hand on your right knee and slowly twist your upper body to the right, using your tummy
6. Take three deep breaths again.

You can do this as many times as you want.

If you’re on the go, doing three rounds of 10 gentle shoulder rolls (10 times forward and 10 times back) can also be beneficial.

When you're feeling upset or stressed, it can be helpful to think about someone positive in your life. It could be someone you love or just someone you feel connected to.

Close your eyes and imagine this person’s face. Think about how their voice sounds or something you really like about them.

Now, imagine them saying something encouraging to you, like, ‘You've got this!’ or ‘Don't worry, it won’t be like this forever.’ Or maybe they say something comforting they've told you before, something only the two of you would know about.

Even if it feels a bit strange at first, notice how it makes you feel inside. You might feel warmer or more relaxed. This simple trick can help you feel happier and more at ease when you're going through tough times.

If you're not sure where to start, think about what creative things you enjoy doing in your free time. Maybe you love making creative videos, writing music, or taking photos of nature for your social media. You can also try the below activity.

Think about a feeling that's bothering you, like sadness or grief.

• Grab a piece of paper and let that feeling guide your pen or brush as you draw. You might notice your pen moving slower or using specific colours that match the emotion.
• Take as much time as you need, and don't worry about making it look perfect. The point is to express how you feel and let it out.
• After you finish, take a moment to think about how your feelings may have shifted.

You can also try the same thing with a positive emotion like gratitude.

Listening to music you enjoy can have a really positive impact on the way you feel. Not only can music help energise you, it can also help you process emotions.

If you’d like to use music as a grounding technique, you could:

• Sing along with your favourite song
• Pretend you’re hearing your favourite song for the first time
• Choose a slow song that you can lay down and breathe to.

The more you practise grounding techniques, the better they’ll work for you. Similar to when someone lifts weights regularly and their muscles get stronger, the habit becomes easier to maintain.

When you do grounding exercises, you strengthen the pathways in your brain that help you relax and feel calm. By doing grounding exercises often, your brain will get better at managing feelings of stress and anxiety.

For example, imagine you have a big work deadline that's stressing you out. Usually, your mind would race with thoughts, but this time, you use the box breathing technique, which calms your mind down.

If you keep using this technique regularly, your brain will learn to respond with relaxation instead of stress when facing tough situations. So, the more you practise, the easier it gets to stay calm and relaxed.

When you start using grounding techniques, it's normal if you feel a bit unsure or awkward at first. But just like when you learned to walk or read, it takes practice and perseverance to get better.