Ground Yourself Quickly

Try the 5–4–3–2–1 technique

image by Basti Steinhauer from the Noun Project

If you or a loved one is feeling anxious, maybe having a panic attack, or just not focused or engaged, the 5-4-3-2-1 strategy can be helpful. By using all five of your senses, you can quickly and effectively bring yourself to the present moment. It can be used when you’re just trying to more skillfully engage in your day, or it can be used if you’re having a full-on panic attack.

It’s not a countdown, where you count from 5 to 1 and then just go do whatever it is you’re putting off. Instead, we use the countdown to engage all five of our senses through intentional focus to help us feel more grounded and present.

Five. Find five things that you can see with your eyes. As your eyes rest on each object, try naming it out loud (if you’re by yourself), or simply silently note the object in your head.

• Four. Notice four things you can hear. When I do sound-focused meditations, I’ll often suggest listening first for things that are outside (birds, traffic, wind, overhead planes, construction, yard work), then things that are inside but in the room that you occupy (another living being — human or animal — making noise, a washing machine or dishwasher, a television, or music), then things that are in the room you occupy but outside of yourself (a fan, heating or air conditioning, the hum of machinery, a…