(Click the gif to reach the introduction!)
Hello and welcome to our grounding carrd!
This is an extended assistance carrd made by the Zombie System for people who experience dissociation, panic attacks, or anything else of the sort.
Grounding is an exercise that helps calm a person down and "recalibrate" them with their surroundings. It can be extremely helpful for folks who experience any form of disconnect from reality, panic/anxiety, or anything else of the sort.
Grounding questions are basic questions to help ground you in your surroundings and pull you back into focus. They can be the only step, or a first step, depending on what you need! <3
Objective questions are a further step in grounding where it essentially asks you questions about factual/objective things, to help further bring you to focus and help re-associate you with what's going on. They are simple, quick, easy questions about fast facts that can help you refocus.
Personal questions are explained in the name! These are questions that will help you ground in your identity. If you're a system, especially a new alter, they may help you figure out who you are; if you aren't, and are experiencing some form of unreality/delusion episode/disconnect/etc, they may help you refamiliarize yourself with who you are and what's going on. <3
We are also going to add some miscellaneous grounding techniques, as well as some links to other things to help you out after visiting this carrd!
Please stay safe and take care. Be gentle with yourselves and take the time you need to feel okay.
Follow the buttons through to the assistance sections! <333
Hello! We're going to do a few simple steps to help ground you!
Firstly, take a few (at least three) good deep breaths. In for 7 seconds, hold for 5, out for 7.
Good job!
Now! Can you tell me, either out loud or in your head:
5 things you can see, and the colour of each one!
4 different textures you can currently feel!
3 different scents/smells!
2 words that rhyme!
And take 1 more deep breath for me, just like before!
Try and get a glass of water, and maybe something to snack on if you can! If not, smooth your hands over something nearby, and focus on the textures while you breath. Take as many deep breaths as needed for you to feel more calm.
Good! You did such a good job!
Remember that you are safe, and you are extremely loved and cared about. Everything is going to be okay; I promise.
Hello! I'm going to continue with helping you ground by asking you some objective questions!
Feel free to flick through the questions below; it's not necessary to go through this entire list, but I'm going to put an extended amount here for if they are needed! There is going to be 50 small, short, easy questions to answer; answer as many as you want or need!
1: What colour is the sky normally?
2: What colour is the sun?
3: What are the 6 colours of the rainbow?
4: What colour is grass?
5: What is 3 + 4?
6: What colours are the leaves in fall?
7: Name 3 ocean animals!
8: What is 2 + 7?
9: What is 5 + 5?
10: Name 3 types of enviroments!
11: Name 3 types of dessert!
12: Name 3 land animals!
13: What colour is the ocean?
14: What colour is milk?
15: Name 3 off colours/shades; ie, teal, cream, etc!
16: Name 3 snack foods!
17: What is 12 + 3?
18: Name 3 animals that can be kept as pets!
19: Name 3 kinds of fruit!
20: Name 3 textures!
21: What colour is snow?
22: What colour is the night sky?
23: Name 3 kinds of fish, specifically!
24: Name 3 mediums for art! (ie: painting, writing, etc!)
25: What colour are salmon usually depicted as?
26: What colour are evergreen / pine trees?
27: What temperature is freezing? (The freezing point of water!)
28: Name 3 musical notes! (ie: C, E, etc!)
29: What is your primary language?
30: Name 3 types of media! (ie: movies, games, etc!)
31: Name 3 genres! (ie: horror, comedy, etc!)
32: Name 3 classic monsters! (ie: Frankenstein's monster, zombies, etc!)
33: What is 7 + 3?
34: What is 10 + 10?
35: Name 3 types of drinks! (ie: water, coffee, etc!)
36: Name 3 holidays! (ie: Chanukah, Easter, etc!)
37: What are baby cats called?
38: What are baby dogs called?
39: What are the basic binary pronouns?
40: What are 3 nonbinary pronouns?
41: What colour is milk chocolate?
42: What colour are strawberries?
43: Name 3 words that start with T!
44: Name 3 names that start with D!
45: What is 6 + 6?
46: What are 2 cool colours vs 2 warm colours?
47: What are you sitting/standing on right now?
48: What are 3 types of plants?
49: What are the 4 base compass directions?
50: What is 15 + 5?
Hello! I'm going to continue with helping you ground by asking you some personal questions!
Feel free to flick through the questions below; it's not necessary to go through this entire list, but I'm going to put an extended amount here for if they are needed! There is going to be 50 questions listed here for you; if you can't answer or don't know the answer to a question, don't stress! These aren't for me to know, and are simply to help you try and come into yourself.
If you want or need, recording your answers to these questions somewhere can be helpful, but isn't necessary! As well, you can take as much time as you need to answer them, and you can always come back and revisit them later. *hug*
With that being said, find the questions down below!
1: What's your favourite colour?
2: What's your favourite food?
3: Do you have any comfort items?
4: How tall are you?
5: What's your hair colour?
6: What's your eye colour?
7: Do you have any partners?
8: Do you have any family?
9: Do you have any friends?
10: If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?
11: Do you have a favourite food?
12: Do you have any children?
13: Do you have any hobbies?
14: Do you have a favourite outfit or article / type of clothing?
15: What's your favourite genre of media? (ie: comedy, romance, etc!)
16: What's your favourite animal?
17: Do you have any prominent memories you can think of?
18: Do you have any specifically happy/comforting memories you can think of?
19: What colour is your skin?
20: What are your preferred pronouns?
21: Are you human?
22: If you are not human, do you know what you are?
23: Do you feel like you speak / spoke a different language than right now?
24: Do you have a song / playlist / type of music you like?
25: Do you like sweets?
26: Do you like meat?
27: What's your favourite type of monster / creature / etc?
28: What's a fun fact you like? Doesn't have to be about you!
29: Do you know what technology is?
30: Do you know what the internet is?
31: What's the last year you remember?
32: How old are you?
33: Do you have a favourite video game?
34: Do you have a favourite movie?
35: Name something comforting to you!
36: What's your favourite holiday?
37: What's your gender?
38: What's your favourite season?
39: What's your favourite kind of weather?
40: What's your favourite drink?
41: What type of environment / place / etc would you ideally like to live in?
42: Do you have any particularly strong opinions about anything off the top of your head?
43: Do you have any majour interests?
44: What's a fun fact about you?
45: Do you prefer baggy, form fitting/casual or tight clothes?
46: Is there a specific kind of aesthetic you like?
47: Do you have any pets?
48: If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
49: Do you have any comfort characters / people?
50: What's your name?
Hi there! I'm going to try and help you out a bit with some extra grounding mechanisms to further help you through whatever is going on.
-----
If you're feeling extremely blurry/dissociated and cannot think or focus enough to answer questions, feel free to try this thinking exercise to kick start your brain! It starts off easy, and slowly gets more difficult to push your brain to think. Start out with a simple equation of 2 + 2; and continue adding the same number you get as your answer on top of itself as you go up. Example:
What is 2 + 2?
Good! What is 4 + 4?
And what is 8 + 8?
16 + 16?
32 + 32?
Take as much time as you need to figure them out, and continue down the line until you feel like its easier to think!
-----
If you are feeling extremely dissociated away from or disconnected from your surroundings, try something called "scene spotting!" Basically, you're going to choose an attribute; for example purposes, we'll say yellow! And you're going to look around the room and count/take note of the amount of things that specifically are yellow in the room! Other examples include:
Different colours!! (yellow, blue, purple, black, white, etc!)
Sizes!! (big, small, wide, tall, etc!)
Only items that are fabric!! (carpet, clothes, tapestries, stuffed animals, etc!)
Try spotting as many different ones as you need until you feel more grounded!
-----
If you need extended help getting your brain back on track of focus, try this! Basically, you're going to select an attribute, and you're going to try to go through your brain and pick out any that you can think of off of the top of your head that fit that specific thing! For example:
Names that start with the letter S!! (Sarah, Samuel, Sam, Saria, Soren, Sebastian, Skylar, Sky, etc!)
Female celebrities! (Scarlett Johansson, DojaCat, Millie Bobby Brown, Megan Fox, Nikki Minaj, etc!)
Types of dogs!! (doberman pincher, pug, golden retriever, husky, corgi, etc!)
-----
These are some techniques that involve physical movement or action to help further ground you away from any troubling thoughts you may be having.
Note: If you ever feel like you are in a state of emergency and/or crisis, cannot be alone, or anything of the sort, please do not hesitate to reach out for help. Whether that be calling a friend/partner/family member, calling or texting a helpline, calling your local emergency number or anything of the sort, please do not allow yourself to suffer alone.
Some techniques for coping with intrusive thoughts:
Taking a bath, shower, or something to make you feel physically better (even brushing your teeth/applying deodorant / putting on clean clothes / etc can go a long way!)Listening to loud music, watching a show or something with audio to focus on, usually better with words! ASMR can also be extremely helpful for this if you need to rest or need something quiet!Writing in a diary or journal and dumping all of the thoughts out there to get them out of your head. It's over talked about, I know, but it genuinely really can help to work them out! Alternatively, if you fancy yourself an artist (or not!), drawing them out can help as well. <3The rubber duck method! (Talk to an inanimate object about said thoughts, and work through them as if talking to a person!)On that topic, just having company or telling people about what's going on can really help. It may be tempting to self isolate, and it may be scary or distressing to think about telling others about what's going on. But it's so much better to be honest and reach out for help when you need it than to suffer alone. Even just sitting next to or on call with someone can drastically help distance away from those bad thoughts.Sports can help a lot!! Or just exercise in general. It lets you get your aggression and energy out without hurting anyone!!!
Some techniques for coping against urges to self harm:
Holding an ice cube / ice. Squeeze it and let it press into your hand for as long as you may need.Slapping a rubber band on your arm. Put it around your wrist and snap it against your arm, as many times as needed.The butterfly tactic! (Draw as many butterflies as you like on your arm, and name them after important things to you; the idea is that hurting yourself subsequently hurts them, and can be an efficient deterrent.)Drawing lines (usually red, but whatever you desire!) on yourself in pen or marker.Slapping or punching something soft, preferably a pillow, your mattress, a stuffed animal, a balled up shirt, or something like it.Patting yourself. Much like how patting/pressuring on a bug bite can help the itch, patting or tapping on the spot where you want to hurt can help tone it down.
Some techniques for coping with one or both of the above things, or just in general!
Doing something like braiding your hair, painting your nails, etc!Stretches! There are plenty of great walk throughs online about some simple stretches you can do; it doesn't have to be professional or routine, but it can vastly improve how you're feeling!Art, writing, and/or creating something in general, whether its vent work or not! Being able to physically look at something you've made yourself is a wonderful feeling, and creating things can be a wonderful way to work out and express your feelings!Changing up your schedule / doing things different in a day (believe me, it works!) Brains both love and hate routines; and if you find yourself constantly stuck in a rut of something, whether it be chronic nightmares, nonstop depression, intrusive thoughts or something else, changing up pieces of your routine can vastly help! Even if it's only one thing, like perhaps sitting at your desk or kitchen table with your computer instead of your bed, or showering at a different/more specific time, as examples, it can really help!Playing with your pets / talking to your pets! Much like with the rubber duck method and just company in general, your beloved companions can be a great way to self comfort and to try and relax <3Sitting outside!! Even just for fresh air!!! Getting some sunlight and fresh air in you can do wonders, especially if you haven't been outside in awhile!! Take a moment out of your day if you can to let yourself breath it in. <3Letting daylight in your room. Maybe try and play spot what games while the window is open!!! Opening up your curtains and getting some light in can make your room feel a lot more open and awake, and plays into the same type of feeling as the last note!
-----
Above all else, remember that you are safe, okay and loved. Everything is going to be okay. You are safe, you are cared about. You have not been and will not be forgotten. People care about you, whether or not you can actively see it. And eventually, this will pass.
Hello there! I'm going to list a couple of extra resources here that may be really helpful to you! Feel free to follow the links through for additional help! <3
This is a carrd made specifically to help new alters in systems with a quick catch up and some additional help / resources! It can be extremely helpful! There is two options for if you know / don't know what a system is, and a section with emergency numbers and hotlines you can call. <3
This is an interactive walk through guide to help you with self care and executive issues. It's extremely helpful, and can really be the boost you need to take care of yourself when you're unable to tell what's wrong or where to start. Make sure you take the time to work through each step, and allow yourself to be cared for. <3
This is a really helpful and sweet looking safe space carrds with plenty of helpful resources and links! There's a lot on here, so feel free to check it out yourself! <3
This is a carrd about resources for survival assisstance. It has plenty of amazing looking and helpful resources for all kinds of emergency situations. I pray you may not need them; but they're here for you if you do. <3
Please make sure to take care of yourself. You are safe, and everything is going to be okay. Promise.