The Grounding Method – Emotional Regulation & RSD Workbook (PDF)

Your feelings aren't the problem. Acting on them in the moment is.

The Grounding Method is a 34-page printable PDF workbook for anyone whose emotions arrive at full volume — where one critical comment can ruin the day, a slow reply feels like a verdict, and small frustrations tip into tears or rage.

It doesn't try to make you feel less. It gives the first ninety seconds of a strong feeling a plan, so you act later instead of in the moment.

The idea in one line: Feel it fully. Act on it later.

What's inside

Part One: The Emotional Surge (pages 4–9)

Why feelings in ADHD rise faster, peak higher, and last longer — grounded in a meta-analysis of 13 studies (2,535 adults) and a 2023 review of 22 studies that calls it a core symptom. Includes an honest look at rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) and three research-backed strategies that actually work.

Part Two: The Grounding Loop (pages 10–20)

A four-move method you can run in under three minutes:

• Name — the feeling in two words, plus a number out of ten
• Slow — feet on the floor, then cyclic sighing (long exhale)
• Sort — what a camera would record vs. the story you're adding
• Choose — act now, act later, or let it go. The twenty-minute rule: nothing written during a wave gets sent for twenty minutes.

Part Three: Grounding by Context (pages 21–26)

Versions of the loop for the three hardest triggers: criticism, silence (an unanswered text), and frustration (small things piling up). Plus how to repair after an outburst — in three lines, without a shame spiral.

Part Four: Build Your System (pages 27–34)

Lowering your baseline through sleep, movement, breathing, and food. Ready-made scripts for asking a partner, manager, or tutor for support. The restart rule, when to seek professional help, and a one-page cheat sheet.

6 printable worksheets

• Feelings Finder
• Body Signal Map
• Fact vs Story Sorter
• Run One Full Loop
• Trigger Plan (if–then plans for your three most predictable triggers)
• Weekly Grounding Review

34 pages · 6 printable worksheets · ~25 published studies cited · instant digital download

Compatible with GoodNotes, Notability, PDF Expert, or print at home. A4 format.