Printable Grounding Cards
A grounding technique you cannot access mid-flood might as well not exist — and mid-flood, nobody opens a bookmarked article. Cards solve the access problem physically: one technique per card, large type, short words, stationed where your bad moments actually happen. Print this page, cut the twelve cards below, and deploy them like the safety equipment they are.
Who the printable grounding cards is for
Anyone whose techniques evaporate exactly when needed — and anyone who wants to leave real help lying around for a household that needs it.
Free, no email needed — print the printable grounding cards (write-in lines included) or save it as a PDF from the print dialog.
Cut, station, rehearse
Print at 100% and cut along the card blocks below — each exercise section is one strip of three cards. STATION them where floods happen: wallet/phone case (public), desk drawer (work), bedside (3am), kitchen (home rows), car glovebox. REHEARSE each card once calm — a card's job is to trigger a practised move, not teach a new one. Write your name-and-person card last: it is the one card only you can write.
The twelve cards
Each line below is one card. The bold-style opening words are the card's title; the rest is its full text.
1. Cards 1-3: The body anchors
For carrying everywhere.
Cut as three cards.
- ●CARD — FEET. Press both feet into the floor. Hard. Feel it push back. You are somewhere real. Stay 30 seconds.
- ●CARD — EXHALE. Breathe in for 4. Out for 8. The long out-breath is the brake. Six times. Count on fingers.
- ●CARD — WALL. Find a wall. Push it with both palms, arms straight, 30 seconds. Let it hold what you're carrying.
2. Cards 4-6: The senses
For desk and kitchen.
Cut as three cards.
- ●CARD — 5-4-3-2-1. Out loud or whispered: 5 things you SEE. 4 you HEAR. 3 you can TOUCH. 2 you SMELL. 1 you TASTE.
- ●CARD — COLD. Cold water on wrists and face. Or hold something from the freezer. Cold is faster than thoughts.
- ●CARD — ONE OBJECT. Pick up anything near you. Describe it aloud like a detective: weight, texture, temperature, colour, age.
3. Cards 7-9: The mind anchors
For bedside and 3am.
Cut as three cards.
- ●CARD — NOW, NOT THEN. Say aloud: your full name. Your age. Today's date. Where you are. One thing that is true NOW that was not true THEN.
- ●CARD — CATEGORIES. Name every animal you can. Out loud. When you stall, switch: cities. Songs. Foods. Keep the mouth moving until the mind follows.
- ●CARD — THE WAVE. This feeling is a wave. Waves crest. You have survived 100% of them so far. Twenty minutes before any big decision.
4. Cards 10-12: The connection cards
Two ready-made, one only you can write.
Cut as three cards; fill in card 12 by hand before stationing it.
- ●CARD — LOW-BAR TEXT. Send exactly this: "Rough moment. No reply needed. Just telling someone." Sending it IS the technique.
- ●CARD — AFTER. It passed. Drink water. Eat something. No post-mortem tonight — the review can wait until you're rested.
- ●CARD — MINE (fill in): My person and their number: ______. What works fastest for me: ______. The line I need to read: ______.
Before you use this
The printable grounding cards is psychoeducation and self-reflection — not therapy, diagnosis, or crisis support. Go at your own pace; stopping when overwhelmed is information, not failure. If it stirs up more than you can settle, a trauma-informed therapist is the right next step (our therapy guide compares the options) — and the disclaimer has the fine print.
Not sure which trauma response is yours?
The printable grounding cards works best matched to your real pattern.
What's Your Trauma Response?
Answer 12 quick questions to discover whether you lean towards Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn — and what it means for your healing.
Take the Free Quiz →Takes about 2 minutes. No email required.
Printable Grounding Cards: FAQ
Aren't physical cards a bit low-tech when I always have my phone?
Low-tech is the feature. The phone is where the flood often lives (the message that triggered you, the feed that spirals you), unlocking it mid-crisis routes you straight through temptation, and a dead battery at 3am helps nobody. A card has one job, zero notifications and no login. Best practice is both: cards stationed physically, plus a photo of your MINE card as the phone lock screen — the only version of it that shows without unlocking into the swamp.
Which cards should go where?
Match card to venue by what floods you there. Wallet/phone case: FEET and EXHALE — invisible in public. Desk: 5-4-3-2-1 and ONE OBJECT — doable mid-meeting under the guise of fidgeting. Bedside: NOW NOT THEN, CATEGORIES and THE WAVE — the 3am set, plus MINE. Kitchen: COLD (the equipment lives there) and AFTER. Car: WALL swaps for steering-wheel pushes — and pull over first; grounding while driving means stopping the car. Duplicates are encouraged; print two pages and station the whole second deck at work.
Worksheets for the four responses
Related worksheets
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