So here are some ideas for grounding yourself:
1) Go to the nature. Preferably every day, even shortly. You can walk or just sit there and relax. Breath the fresh air and feel the ground under your feet. It is very good if you can go to forest or some other place that is a little bit away from the city life and it´s crowded parks etc. There you can really enjoy the silence and feel the amazing energy that is at the same time both calming and refreshing. I have had this daily forest walk routine already a long time and I´ll do it no matter what the weather is: same way if it shines or rains or snows or is freezing cold. (Oh yes, here in Finland the weather can be often quite challenging... ;) It is just all about the right kind of clothing and gear. It is just worth it! Every time I go to the forest, I find the same peace, joy and gratefulness inside of me.
2) Deep breathing. It is very common that people breath very shallow and use only the upper part of the lungs. And when we get anxious or scared we tend to almost stop breathing or do it in a very fast pace. And that makes us feel even worse and can even start a panic attack/depersonalisation feelings. So it is very good to start practicing a new way of breathing, a deeper way. There´s lots of free breathing exercises (pranayama) for example in Youtube, but one easy way is just start to practise yourself by counting to four when inhaling, then pause for a second, then four for exhaling, and pause again for a second. And repeat this for some time. You can also start to add little by little the amount of time that you are using in each phase of the breathing. But not too quickly. Learn to listen yourself and be gentle! Breath through your nose and breath down to your belly. Repeat this practise often, because habits that we have had for a long time don´t change overnight. So be patient! ;)
3) Regular day rhythm, routine and enough time for rest and sleeping. Oh yes... many of these tips are really simple, but it´s another thing to really use them in your life. Regularly. So, when the times are difficult, it is a very good thing to go back to basics. Think how you would rhythm a small child´s days. When to get up? At what times would it be good to eat (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, supper/evening snack)? What time to go to bed? Once again I mention this indian ancient medicine, ayurveda, because it can be a very helpful tool to understand yourself better and to learn different ways to get yourself in balance. So just google "ayurveda" and you´ll find a lot of information about it. I´ll try to write an article about that subject at some point. :) So... In ayurveda there are three different body/personality types and for vata (the most light-headed) the proper sleeping time is from 10pm to 6am (8 hours), for pitta 10pm-5am (7 hrs) and for kapha (the least "space-boogier") 10pm-4pm (6 hrs). So different people need different amount of sleep and it can also vary in different times of the year or in your life. So learn to listen to yourself. Have time for relaxation and naps. Let yourself just be, doing nothing.
4) Bath/massage/touch/physical activity. We stay a lot of the time in our heads, thinking, planning, stressing, reminiscing... Now we´ll have to start learning again how to be more in our bodies. How to listen our bodies. How to take care and respect our bodies. It is important to get this kind of "bodily work/consciousness" as a part of our daily routine. It doesn´t have to be a long session. But the regularity is THE thing - once again. Try to find the ways to connect to your body and move it the ways you find the most natural and enjoyable just for you and your body type. Try yoga (different kinds of styles!), taiji, swimming, walking, biking, hiking, jogging, climbing, gym, playing different kinds of games together, dancing, contact-improvisation... ( you can find lots of "how to learn..." -videos in the web.)
But try to leave out any harsh attitudes and learn to have fun and really enjoy the movement of your body. Remember how joyful it was when you were a child! Be kind to yourself. Try to be mindful when moving and let your attention to be fully in your body and the sensations that rise. Very efficient way to ground yourself is also massaging. And it is easy to do even by yourself. Oil massage before or in bath is very soothing and returns you again back in yourself, in this moment, if you are "floating/spacing out". Even 5-10 minutes is enough, but it is very good to have this as a regular part of your routine. Even daily if you are an "airy-fairy"-person like me. Touch also otherwise works very well and you can learn for example reiki or some other hands-on healing methods. Once again check the Youtube! And of course it is luxury if at least sometimes you can find somebody else to give a massage or touch-healing. Rosen-therapy is amazing as well!
5) Food. Different kinds of food products can help you in grounding as well. And a simple rule is just that heavier foods ground you more and lighter less (or very light foods, for example many raw foods, can even increase too "light" feelings) and fasting of course is in this matter the worst of all. Oily foods, wheat, root vegetables, dairy and nuts are foods that can help. Of course also meat products, but those I don´t recommend for many other reasons. :) Add more proteins to your diet! Also warm and moist foods are more grounding than cold and dry. Warm drinks are recommended, but then again not coffee, black or green tea or cocoa/cacao (or chocolate, sob... ;) and also many lemonades like coke and mountain dew, because they all contain some forms of stimulating substances like caffeine, teaine (don´t remember what it is called in cocoa, some "-ine" it still is, and affecting the same way) and these can increase the unwanted spacey feelings. My doctor once told me that anybody will get a panic attack if he/she is given an amount of caffeine, that is over their own "limit". In ayurvedic vata types it basically means complete no-no to these beverages. (Okey, sometimes I just have to get some chocolate... ;) Herbal and fruit teas are very good options. But of course you have to just find out your own limits by trying these things yourself. Learn to listen to your body, what it needs to feel well. Be your own guru!
6) Cleaning and keeping things in order. In times of big changes the life can start to feel chaotic. And a good way to balance that is to have order in those things you can affect - like your home´s cleanliness. The act of cleaning is in itself very grounding and can change amazingly fast your unreal feelings to very "normal" and ordinary. Clean home is also energetically more pure and you can sense it as a good atmosphere.
7) You can try to keep your attention more on your first, root chakra´s area and in your legs/feet. Feel the ground under your every step. You can also visualize yourself having strong roots that reach the earth wherever you are. Even high in a plane. And you can ask the Mother Earth to keep you grounded and feeling safe. You can rub your feet and also make sure that they stay always dry and warm. That helps the whole body to be warm, and it then again helps you to stay feeling grounded and safe.
8) Use your hands. Try gardening, baking, painting, knitting, wood work... Anything that feels good to you. Touch and feel with your hands. Get your hands dirty!
9) Prefer natural materials in your home and in your clothes. Walk barefoot in the nature and on the wooden or stony floor. Be mindful how it feels. Enjoy the sensations.
Okey, maybe these are enough now for the start. :) I´ll add more if some ideas come to my mind that are not yet here and you can also share your grounding tips! :)
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