Handouts · Anxiety
Grounding Techniques
When your mind is flooded — by panic, a flashback, or feeling unreal — grounding brings you back to the here and now, where you are safe.
What Grounding Does
Overwhelm pulls you into the past or into "what if." Grounding uses your senses and body to anchor you in the present moment.
It doesn't erase the feeling — it reminds your brain that right now, you are here and okay.
5-4-3-2-1 Senses
Slowly name:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can touch
- 3 things you can hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
Physical Grounding
- Press your feet firmly into the floor.
- Hold something cold or textured — ice, a key, a stone.
- Splash cool water on your face or hands.
- Stretch, or push your palms together hard.
Mental Grounding
- Say where you are: "I'm in my kitchen. It's [day]. I'm safe."
- Count backward from 100 by 7s.
- Name animals, or items in a category, A to Z.
- Describe an everyday task in detail, step by step.
Soothing Grounding
- Picture a safe, calm place in detail.
- Say a kind phrase: "This will pass. I'm doing my best."
- Wrap in a blanket; hold a warm drink.
- Breathe out slowly, longer than you breathe in.
My Go-To Grounding
Works best for me:
Object I'll keep handy:
My grounding phrase:
Practice when calm. A skill rehearsed on an easy day is one you can reach for on a hard one. If you often feel unreal, detached, or lose time, tell your clinician — grounding helps, and there are targeted treatments too.