What to do when it’s hard to feel grounded

We all have moments when it feels extra hard to find our footing. Perhaps you woke up to an urgent call from your manager, an emergency at home, or a tough conversation you’ve been avoiding finally caught up with you.

It’s completely normal and human to have hard times, but these moments don’t have to take over your day or your week or even your year. Even in the midst of tough situations, it’s possible to pause, breathe, feel more present in your body, and make decisions from a state of mindfulness instead of being driven by rush, stress, or fear. 

How to give yourself a breather

1. Let your breath catch up with you

Stress often hijacks your breathing before you even notice. Your chest gets tight, your breaths go shallow, and suddenly everything feels urgent.

One of the simplest things you can do is stop for a moment and take a slow, steady breath. Let the exhale be just a little longer than the inhale. It might not fix the problem, but it can soften the edge of it.

2. Plant your feet and feel your body

Sometimes grounding starts with just feeling the ground. If you’re sitting, notice the support beneath you. If you’re standing, press your feet into the floor and gently shift your weight from one foot to the other.

These subtle movements remind your body that you’re still here, still present, still going, still supported, and you can still return to being in control.

3. Shift your focus to something steady

In the middle of overwhelm, try anchoring your attention to something small and reliable. This could be the texture of a familiar object, the sound of a fan in the background, or the way your hands feel resting in your lap.

Picking one sensory detail to focus on helps pull you out of spiralling thoughts and back into the moment.

4. Change your posture

Your body holds on to stress. Notice if you’re clenching your jaw or hunching your shoulders, and try rolling your shoulders back or lifting your chin.

These are small things, but they can shift your internal state more than you might expect. A little more space in your body can create a little more space in your mind.

5. Let a few seconds be enough

You don’t need 20 minutes of meditation for it to be effective. If you only have 30 seconds, that’s enough time to take a breath, unclench your hands or close your eyes briefly.

These micro-pauses send a message to your nervous system that it’s safe to settle, even just a little. And that “little” might just be what you need right now.

6. Don’t skip the decompression

Once the hard moment passes, give yourself a bit of time to release what your body might still be carrying. That could mean taking a short walk, sitting outside with a warm drink, or putting on a favourite song.

Even five minutes of gentle recovery helps your body shift out of stress mode and return to something more grounded.

Final thoughts

When you're moving through something stressful, it’s easy to keep pushing without noticing how much it’s taking out of you. But giving yourself a breather, even for just a moment, can make a meaningful difference. It creates space for your body to release some tension, for your thoughts to slow down, and for you to respond with more clarity.

You don’t need to feel calm all the time. That’s actually impossible. Plus, groundedness isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It’s something you return to, through small, steady choices that support you in real time.

These pauses may seem small, but they add up.