5-4-3-2-1 (coming back to the room)
About 3minutes, in any position.No sound.Moving, rocking, or fidgeting while you do it is welcome. You can stop at any time.
~3 minfor settlingfor wired & tiredgentleness tier 1 of 3
This takes about 3 minutes. You’ll name things you can sense, out loud or in your head. No sound needed, eyes open.
Working down from five to one, and going as slowly as you like:
- Five things you can see. Ordinary is perfect — a mug, a scuff on the wall, the light on the floor.
- Four things you can feel — your feet in your socks, the chair against your back, air on your hands.
- Three things you can hear — near or far, even the quiet ones.
- Two things you can smell (or two you like the smell of, if the air is neutral).
- One thing you can taste, or one slow breath if there’s nothing.
That’s it. If your mind wanders off partway, that’s not failing — just pick up wherever you left off, or start again. You can stop any time.
Why this works →
Naming what you can actually sense pulls attention out of a spinning mind and into the present room, and gives the threat-detection system a lot of concrete "here, now, and fine" evidence to work with.
Lineage: Common grounding technique; widely used in trauma-informed care. Last reviewed 2026-07-04.