5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Practice
When your thoughts are racing, your body’s buzzing, or everything feels far away and unreal… you don’t need to fix anything — you just need to come back into the room.
The 5-4-3-2-1 practice is a simple sensory grounding technique that helps bring your awareness out of panic or dissociation and back into the present moment. It’s quick, quiet, and requires no special tools.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is just notice. What you see. What you feel. What’s real right now.
This practice doesn’t fix your problems — it brings you home to your body, your senses, your breath. And that, my friend, is where the magic begins! ✨
What Is the 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Practice?
The 5-4-3-2-1 method is a sensory-based grounding tool that helps you shift out of overwhelm, anxiety, or dissociation by focusing on what’s real and tangible right now.
It works by gently directing your attention to your senses — 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This practice helps you orient to your environment and reconnect with your body, one sense at a time.
It’s simple, portable, and surprisingly effective — especially if you’re feeling floaty, spun out, or like you're just... not all the way here.
Keep reading for a detailed explanation of how to actually do it, with examples and tips!
When to Use It (And When to Skip It)
The 5-4-3-2-1 practice is best used as a grounding tool — something to help you come back to the present moment when your system feels flooded, untethered, or just not here.
It can be especially helpful when you’re:
Anxious or spiraling
(Thoughts racing, body buzzing, hard to catch your breath)Dissociating or spacing out
(Feeling floaty, disconnected, unreal, or like you’re behind glass)Emotionally overwhelmed or shut down
(Frozen, foggy, or like you’re about to cry but can’t)Struggling to re-enter your body
(After a hard convo, therapy session, meltdown, or freeze state)Trying to interrupt a shame loop, panic cycle, or intrusive thoughts
(When your brain won’t shut up and your body’s just along for the ride)
However, this tool isn’t for every situation — and that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It just means your nervous system needs a different kind of support right now.
Consider skipping or modifying if:
You’re extremely activated and can’t focus on your senses
(Try Somatic Shaking or Calming Breath instead)You’re deep in shutdown or dissociation and can’t name anything you see/feel
(Start with warm/cold sensation, Havening, or Bilateral Stimulation instead)You feel ashamed for “doing it wrong” or frustrated it’s not working
(That’s your cue to pause and self-soothe — the goal is connection, not performance)
This isn’t a quiz or a challenge. It’s a gentle way to check in with your senses and offer your system some support. If it’s not helping? That’s info. Not failure.
How to Do It
You don’t have to sit perfectly still or say everything in order. This isn’t a spell you have to get exactly right — it’s a sensory check-in, a simple way to come back to your body.
All you have to do is notice:
🖼️ 5 things you can see
Look around you. Let your eyes land on anything — colors, textures, light, shadows. Name what you see out loud or in your head. You don’t have to be poetic.
“I see the lamp. I see my foot. I see a crumb on the table. I see that weird smudge. I see the cat looking out the window.”
🌟 Pro tip: If you’re dissociating, start with what’s moving. Movement often re-engages the brain faster than static visuals.
✋ 4 things you can feel
Turn your attention to your skin and body. Notice texture, pressure, temperature, clothing, weight.
“I feel the floor under my heels. My hoodie on my neck. My jaw clenched. My back leaning into the chair.”
🌟 Can’t feel anything? Touch something. Grab a textured object. Press your hands together. Even saying “I feel numb” counts.
👂 3 things you can hear
Let your ears stretch out. What’s close? What’s far? Don’t try to control what you hear — just listen.
“I hear traffic. My breath. The fridge humming.”
🌟 Pro tip: Count your own breath as one of the sounds if everything’s too quiet.
👃 2 things you can smell
Sniff the air. Your shirt. Your drink. Your armpit. (No judgment, babe.) If you can’t smell anything, name a scent you remember or love.
“I smell nothing. I imagine lavender. I remember what my old blanket smells like.”
👅 1 thing you can taste
Swallow. Notice if there’s any lingering taste — or sip, nibble, or imagine something.
“I taste coffee. I taste toothpaste. I imagine biting into a lemon.”
🌟 Optional spice: Pop in a mint, sip tea, bite chocolate. Taste can be a powerful tether.
You can do this whole thing in under a minute — or stretch it out into a full body ritual. You can root yourself in reality, in this moment — or you can intentionally curate a pleasurable experience by going someplace beautiful, or surrounding yourself with scents, sounds, and sensations you enjoy.
Make it your own! There’s no wrong way to come back to your senses.
Want more ways to come back to your self?
I’ve got a whole library of mind-body magic waiting for you✨