5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

By Ellie Dunne

This simple grounding technique is something I learnt in my quest to help my panic attacks. It’s super easy to do and can be done anywhere. It helps your mind to focus and calm down enough so that you can use another exercise like deep breathing or whatever works for you to get rid of the anxiety altogether.

• List 5 things that you can see right now without turning your head, just using your eyes. Really look. Find one thing that is small. Find one thing that is big. Find something blue. Find something green. Count them as you find them, say it either aloud or in your head.

• List 4 things that you can hear right now. Maybe it is someone walking. Maybe it's a bird singing or someone close by talking. Maybe it is the sounds of cars going past or maybe it's just the sound of your own breathing. Really listen to them. Are they loud? Quiet? Are they close by or far away?

• List 3 things that you can feel right now. Maybe it is the ground under your feet or the feeling of the seat touching your legs? Maybe it is the breeze brushing through your hair? Or maybe it is your phone in your hand? Is it hard to touch? Soft? Is it heavy? Cold? Warm?

• List 2 things that you can smell right now. Breathe in really deep with your nose and try to differentiate the smells. Maybe it is someone's perfume? Some food cooking? The delicate smell of a flower or freshly mowed grass? Maybe it's a bad smell or maybe it's really pleasant. Is it strong or faint?

• List 1 thing you can taste right now. Maybe it's something minty, like toothpaste? Or sweet like chocolate? Focus on how your mouth figures out how something tastes. How does your tongue move? Does it touch behind your teeth? To the sides of your mouth? Or to the roof of your mouth?

Finishing this simple exercise you should feel calmer but if you don’t you can simply restart the exercise. Look for more specific things like a game of eye spy with yourself. Don’t worry if you feel it didn’t work. Keep trying! I hope you find this exercise useful and let me know if you tried it out.