When everything feels like too much, grounding helps bring you back to the present moment.

Staying grounded means finding ways to calm your mind. These tools are especially useful when you’re overwhelmed, anxious or stuck in your head. You might feel worried, stressed or like things are out of your control. That’s completely normal, especially when someone in your family has Huntington’s disease.

This page is full of grounding techniques and small actions or distractions that you can do to help yourself feel less overwhelmed, safe, and calm. You might use these when you're feeling anxious, when your mind is racing, or when you're having a difficult time at home or school.

You can come back to these anytime you need to reset or take a moment for yourself.

Try one of our staying grounded techniques

Origami

Origami can be a powerful grounding and distraction tool because it engages both the mind and the hands in a calm, structured way. Folding paper requires attention to detail, which pulls your mind away from racing thoughts or stress. The repetitive, precise folds can help you enter a meditative rhythm.

Download origami

Go out in nature

If possible, get outside. Nature can do wonders to your brain. Try and really take in the different trees and plants and what you can smell and hear as well as what you can see. Watching leaves move in the wind, clouds drift, or water ripple gently draws your focus outward. Birds, rustling trees, or flowing water can quiet inner noise and offer a calming rhythm, while the scent of soil, rain, or flowers can ground you instantly.

Writing and journaling

Journaling can be a huge release for many. It could be anything from writing down your thoughts and feelings at this time to relieve some of the stress on paper. Some other ideas are to write down five things you are grateful for, write down some achievements or even some goals for the month or year. We have created prompts to help you with your wellbeing journal in the download below.

Download your wellbeing journal prompts

Mindfulness wordsearch

We have created a mindfulness wordsearch full of calming and motivating words. Word searches and word games are excellent tools for distraction and grounding because they engage your brain in a focused, playful way. If you find this helpful, why not get yourself a word game book for whenever you need a distraction.

Download wordsearch

Fidget and stress toys

Fidget toys and stress balls are simple but powerful grounding tools because they engage your body and senses in ways that calm the mind. Squeezing or flicking provides your hands with something to focus on instead of restless movements. The act of fidgeting redirects your focus from anxious thoughts to the toy in your hand.

Calling a friend or family member

They say a problem shared is a problem halved. If you are stressed or having a tough time, speak to someone close to you. Not only will their voice help calm you, it also takes the load off you just keeping the problem or worry to yourself. They may be able to offer advice or just distract you from your anxiety.