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I’ve always been a person that dismissed eastern and alternative medicine, If I had a headache I wouldn’t ever stop and consider why I had a headache I would just pop a couple of Ibruprofen and then carry on with my day. My focus (which now I know as a trauma response) was always to keep ‘doing’ ‘achieving’ and ‘moving’. This over the years has created a huge disconnect between my mind and my body and has made the healing work on this recovery journey even harder to grasp.

Silly things like getting so fixated on the task in hand that I would forget to use the bathroom and ignore my bodies need to drink or eat, I have been so Lazer focused on just one thing my whole life, Approval.

When my health hit an all time low, without the distraction of a home to make and horses to exercise, I diverted all my attention to ‘finding the problem’ historically always turning to Western medicine for a diagnosis and subsequent treatment that was where I went. Backwards and forwards to the GP presenting all the weird and wonderful symptoms I was faced with. I would spend hours on Google trying to solve the mystery of my health issues, coming up with endless lists of ‘potential’ causes for the symptoms from Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) to (POTS) Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Histamine Intolerance, Stomach Ulcers, you name it I researched it. And I ticked most, if not all of the symptoms of these conditions so became fixated on how to ‘cure’ myself.

The GP week on week, totally clueless as to what she could offer went along with this for some time, allowing me to sample different medications, have various tests and follow my personal investigations down these avenues (in truth I think she must have thought I was totally mad). But six months on was where the truly life changing revelations started and my view of the world began to shift.

I had spent an afternoon down a YouTube rabbit hole learning continuing to research all of my weird and wonderful self diagnosed health issues, and I stumbled across a video on earthing and grounding. My initial stereotypical thoughts were, ‘yeah yeah, woo woo crap’ but nether the less I watched it anyway. After I had watched that 20 minute video (which I have linked here for anyone interested) my eyes were opened.

Turns out grounding and earthing, which in layman’s terms is connecting to the earth through your bare feet, hands or body is a highly overlooked potential to restore balance and vitality in both the body and the mind.

I’ve laid it out in my points below and will explain my personal revelations through this experience.

What actually IS Grounding/Earthing?

Grounding I now know is the process of making direct physical contact with the Earth’s natural surface, this can include soil, grass, sand, or water. The science behind grounding is based on the electrical conductivity of the earth and our own bodies.

Our bodies carry a natural electric charge, which can be affected by the devices we have in our vicinity (mobile phone, wifi routers, electricity pilots, microwaves, X-Rays etc) and so does the Earth. The Earth’s surface has a negative electrical charge, rich in free electrons. These electrons can help neutralize free radicals (unstable molecules that cause inflammation, damage and cancer) in our bodies when we come into contact with the Earth.

In short grounding/earthing helps to rebalance the body’s electrical state, which can lead to profound healing effects.

The Science + Research

For many (me included) the idea of something as simple as connecting with the Earth might sound more spiritual and ‘woo woo’ than scientific—but a growing body of research suggests grounding has real, measurable physiological benefits.

In various studies published, when participants spent time grounded—whether through direct Earth contact or grounding tools like conductive mats—they often showed:

• Reduced inflammation markers
• Lowered cortisol (stress hormone) levels
• Improved heart rate variability (a measure of nervous system balance)
• Better sleep and reduced pain
• Reduced anxiety

Once I hit this part of the video I had an almighty lightbulb moment. All of my gardening from the weeks leading up to this point had given me such a sense of joy and accomplishment, but they had also given me a sense of calm in my body which I just put down to that joy and accomplishment. My hands were always un gloved in the soil and my feet barefoot on the grass, was it actually the inadvertent grounding I had been doing that had helped with this inner feeling of calm and clarity?

Scientific studies have proven that grounding and earthing, by reducing your bodies electrical charge can;

1. Reduce Inflammation

Inflammation is at the root of most chronic illnesses, from arthritis to autoimmune diseases. Which was particularly interesting to me as the majority of self diagnoses I had made fell under the bracket of ‘AutoImmune’. Grounding has been shown to neutralize free radicals in the body, which reduces oxidative stress and inflammation. Some studies even showed wounds healing faster when people practiced regular grounding.

2. Improve Sleep

Grounding can help reset the body’s circadian rhythm and reduce nighttime cortisol spikes, which can interfere with sleep. Many people report falling asleep faster and waking up feeling more refreshed after just a few nights of grounding. I can confirm this personally as my sleep has been appalling throughout my health decline.

3. Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Touching the Earth has a naturally calming effect on the nervous system. Grounding can shift your body from sympathetic (fight-or-flight) to parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) mode, helping to relieve tension and promote mental clarity. For me this was less panic attacks, less anxiety and more balance mentally.

4. Reduce Chronic Pain

People with conditions like fibromyalgia, migraines, and joint pain often report significant relief after incorporating regular grounding practices. This is likely linked to reduced inflammation and increased circulation.

6. Boost Mood and Energy

There’s a reason you feel energized after walking barefoot on the beach or in a forest. Grounding may increase levels of serotonin and dopamine—key mood-regulating neurotransmitters—helping to ease depression, fatigue, and irritability.

7. Enhance Immunity

With inflammation lowered and stress hormones balanced, your immune system can function more effectively. Grounding may help you fight off illness more easily and recover faster from infections or injuries.

This just blew me away, this free and incredibly simple act of just opting to take my shoes off and connecting with the ground had a plethora of positive benefits that no pill could offer me without a boat load of side effects. Naturally after this video I moved on to another, and another and without hesitation started incorporating these techniques in to my life.

Simple ways to Ground/Earth yourself

• Walk barefoot on grass, soil, sand, or concrete (natural surfaces only)
• Sit or lie on the ground while meditating, reading, or relaxing
• Swim or wade in natural bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans)
• Garden with bare hands to connect directly with the soil
• Use grounding mats, sheets, or pads indoors, which plug into the grounding port of electrical outlets

I purchased myself an inexpensive grounding mat from Amazon (I’ve linked the one I bought here) and set to work making this a priority in my day, every day. As soon as I got home, my shoes were off and they stayed off. Rather than sitting on the garden furniture I would sit on the grass, and I made doing some kind of gardening for 10-15 minutes a staple part of my day. I use my grounding mat every evening when I sit and write or work and I cannot tell you how life changing this has been. Even on the wettest of days my feet stay bare, I wrap up warm on the top half and let myself feel the damp moistness of the grass underfoot, I now think of this as free therapy.

I think in this digital life we all lead with phones and computers (which do all have a valuable purpose) we have just all become disconnected from our bodies and the basics of where we all started our evolution, with our feet on the ground.

If this inspires just one of you to slip off your shoes and step in to your garden, then my work is done.

Love and Light as Always

Georgie