5-4-3-2-1 grounding

Nobody knows exactly who invented the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise. It spread through therapists' rooms, school counselling offices and hospital leaflets, passed on because it's easy to remember and works when your mind is too flooded for anything complicated.

It comes from a family of grounding techniques used in anxiety and trauma care, for moments of panic or when a memory takes over. They all rest on one simple fact: your senses only ever report on the present.

Anxiety lives in the future and painful memories live in the past, but your senses are always here. Grounding uses them as an anchor.

Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste. Counting down gives your thinking mind a small, concrete job, which can interrupt the spiral.

It's for steadying, not for figuring anything out. Once the wave has passed, you can come back to whatever set it off.

• Zen

  In The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975), Thich Nhat Hanh wrote about washing the dishes simply to wash the dishes, fully present to each one.

• Mindfulness

  Grounding borrows from mindfulness: resting attention on what your senses are taking in right now.

Wherever you are, slowly name: 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, 1 you can taste.

Your answers stay in this page and aren't saved or sent anywhere.

When is 5-4-3-2-1 grounding most useful?